British Airways

Heathrow has always been the bad boy of European airports, an international crossroads that periodically morphs into a black hole of chaos and delay with no more provocation than a good English fog. Even by Heathrow's standards, though, the debut of the long-awaited Terminal 5 -- the spacious, $8.

A federal judge on Friday preliminarily approved an agreement by two British-based airlines to pay about $210 million to settle a massive price-fixing lawsuit that accused the carriers of colluding to gouge transatlantic passengers with fuel surcharges. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted tentative approval for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to refund one-third of the surcharge paid by each of the airlines' passengers from Aug. 11, 2004, to March 23, 2006.

British Airways said Tuesday it would merge with Iberia, Spain's national airline, as slower economies and higher fuel costs wipe out earnings. The airlines are in talks about an all-stock transaction that would create a new company with two fleets and a dual listing in London and Madrid, the companies said. The deal would be the largest in Europe since Air France acquired Dutch airline KLM for $826.9 million in 2003.

American Airlines and British Airways agreed Thursday to create an alliance that would let them operate as a single carrier on transatlantic routes and counter new competitors. The airlines said they would seek antitrust clearance to coordinate prices, capacity, schedules and routes and share revenue on flights between Europe and North America. The move marks the third bid since 1996 for closer ties between AMR Corp.'

British Airways and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. said Tuesday that they were holding talks about a potential merger, sparking hopes of consolidation in the hard-hit aviation industry. Both companies issued statements saying they were exploring a potential merger with each other "via a dual-listed company structure." Neither British Airways nor Qantas provided further details.

IT may be a bumpy ride this week for British Airways customers because of a threatened strike by cabin crews Tuesday and Wednesday. After negotiations with the union broke down last week, the airline began canceling flights. Even if last-minute talks avert the strike, fliers should expect several days of disrupted schedules, British Airways spokesman John Lampl said. The airline runs two round trips per day between LAX and London's Heathrow Airport.

A youth was found dead Sunday in the wheel well of a British Airways jet at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said. A British Airways pilot found the body during a routine preflight check and notified airport officials about 4:30 p.m. The 747-400 had arrived from London Heathrow Airport at 3:15 p.m. and was to depart for a return flight at 5:20 p.m. Authorities had not identified the victim as of late Sunday, saying only that he was a young black male.

British Airways and the union representing cabin crew personnel reached a last-minute agreement to avert a short strike that was to begin today, allowing the carrier to reinstate all flights to and from London airports. Industry analysts had expected the planned two-day strike to cost the airline $59 million. The carrier is still likely to lose millions of dollars because many of its customers had made alternative travel arrangements.

A British Airways jumbo jet carrying a young man found dead Sunday in a wheel well at Los Angeles International Airport stopped at Cape Town, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong on routinely scheduled flights in the last week, officials said Monday. Federal and local authorities from the FBI and the Los Angeles County coroner's office continued to investigate where the youth -- believed to be 17 or 18 -- boarded the flight and how he died. Official results are expected later this week.