George takes BUPA job as BA court case nears

George, who, if found guilty, will face a fine and maximum penalty of five years in prison, has replaced Simon Sheard, who left the brand earlier this year. George was originally brought in on a project basis by BUPA chief executive Val Gooding, formerly of BA, who has since been replaced at BUPA by finance director Ray King.

Last week, BA promoted George's fellow defendant Andrew Crawley, previously head of sales, to its top marketing role. Crawley will take up the new position of sales and marketing director, following the decision by head of marketing and communications Katherine Whitton to take voluntary redundancy.

George, Crawley, BA's former head of communications, Iain Burns, and former head of UK sales, Alan Burnett, are accused of conspiring with Virgin Atlantic to fix the price of long-haul fuel surcharges from 2004 to 2006. The prosecution has been brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK.

Timeline

• Jun 2006 The Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice investigate the fixing of long-haul fuel surcharges.
• Oct 2006 Martin George, commercial director at British Airways, and Iain Burns, head of communications, resign from the airline.
• Aug 2007 All four defend-ants are refused immunity from prosecution in the US under a plea agreement.
• Jul 2008 Martin George is brought into BUPA on a project basis.
• Nov 2008 Andrew Crawley offered top marketing role at BA to replace Katherine Whitton.
• Jan 2009 Trial to begin at Southwark Crown Court.

This article was first published on Marketing