Fuel surcharges are not British Airways' only problem. The airline recently announced it will not seek costs against deep vein thrombosis (DVT) sufferers if they bring appeals to the House of Lords.

This could herald the way for tens of thousand of victims to obtain compensation for the condition, said to afflict up to 1% of long haul passengers.

The Court of Appeal last July rejected the claims from those who had suffered on the basis DVT did not amount to an accident within the definition of the Warsaw Convention. The possibility of being ordered to pay the airline's costs, likely to be around £500,000, had led to victims discontinuing their appeals.

BA's present stance at first sight appears a magnanimous one, but the international nature of the litigation means that it is in BA's interests to have a ruling from the Lords.

In the leading Australian case, the Supreme Court of Victoria has found for BA and Qantas on the same point; that decision is also likely to be subject to an appeal.

However, all cases may be affected by a decision of the US Supreme Court. For BA, the effect of being ordered to pay damages in the UK pales into insignificance compared with what an adverse decision in America would do.

Even if the English appeals succeed, the only issue that will be decided is whether DVT is caused by an accident. The cases will then return to the lower courts to consider whether each victim suffered from flight-induced DVT. It is likely to be years before any compensation is paid.