easyJet’s Ryanair claims advert misleading
03.03.10
easyJet has been criticised over an advert attacking its budget rival Ryanair. The advert implied Ryanair misled passengers into thinking they would fly direct to European cities, when in fact they flew to towns often miles away. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the advert was not a fair representation of Ryanair flights and must not appear again in the same form. easyJet said it was ‘disappointed’ with the ruling, but would respect the ASA's decision.
The easyJet advert, run as a poster on a train, had the headline: ‘Who loves flying you to the place you actually booked?’ Beneath, with the heading ‘Ryanair’, the ad listed pairs of destinations. The first referred to the city the passenger had booked to fly to, and the second the airport easyJet said Ryanair would really take them to. Barcelona was shown next to Girona, Paris next to Beauvais, Milan next to Bergamo and Venice alongside Treviso. Then, under a heading ‘easyJet’, the advert listed Barcelona / Barcelona, Paris / Paris, Milan / Milan and Venice / Venice.
However, the ASA agreed with Ryanair - who complained - that the advert was an unfair representation of their service. The watchdog said that although Ryanair did fly passengers to the nearby airports listed, rather than the cities themselves, the airline had made this clear to potential passengers. Ryanair also pointed out that Beauvais, Bergamo and Treviso had been officially designated as airports for their corresponding cities by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Unrepentant, Paul Simmons, easyJet UK general manager, said: ‘It's a well known fact that easyJet flies to major airports whereas Ryanair serves out-of-town airfields that can be a two-hour bus journey away from your destination. While we're disappointed by the ruling, which is based on a technicality, we respect the ASA's decision and won't repeat the advert in the identical form.’
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