Check out the Advertising Standard Authority's web site :
www.asa.org.uk
A number of complaints have been made against Ryanair and other airlines for their seemingly misleading adverts.
In most cases the airlines do "get away with it", but here's a case from last year when complaints were upheld against Ryanair (the advertisers referred to below):
Complaint:
Objections to:
a. an advertisement that appeared in the North West edition of a national news-paper. The advertisement was headlined "Europe's Biggest Ever Seat Sale! 937,500 Seats Available! Offer must end at midnight tonight!" and listed 17 destinations, including Dublin, ranging in price from £5 to £15 return plus taxes.
b. a national press advertisement that was headlined "Welcome to the Low fares Website!" and claimed "Europe! From £5 RTN + TAXES Ridiculous Govt. Tax & Airport Taxes. Flights operate from London Stansted". It included a table of 21 destinations and their tax-inclusive prices. The table stated "£ Tax Biarritz 24.00 Pisa 20.00". Below the table, the advertisement stated "Just add £5 rtn fare + tax = total price".
c. a national press advertisement that was headlined "Mad March Fares!" and claimed "Offer must end at midnight on Wednesday! Scandinavia from £24 return that's £3 + ridiculous govt. tax & charges! Stockholm (Skavsta)".
1. One complainant challenged whether advertisement (a) misled by not making clear that the only flight from North West airports, such as Manchester and Liverpool, was to Dublin.
2. The same complainant, who tried to book a return flight to Dublin and could not get one for less than £41, objected that the claim of £26 return fare to Dublin was misleading.
3. Another complainant, who tried to book flights to Pisa and Biarritz but found that the flights were much more expensive than the prices claimed in advertisement (b), challenged the price claims in that advertisement.
4. Another complaintant, who could not get a return flight to Stockholm for less than £65, challenged whether advertisement (c) was misleading.
Codes Section: 2.6, 3.1, 7.1, 17.1 (Ed 10)
Adjudication:
1. Complaints upheld
The advertisers pointed out that a disclaimer stated "conditions apply" and one of those conditions was to fly from London Stansted. They agreed to specify the departure airport in future. The Authority welcomed the advertiser' intention to state the departure location in future but considered that usually advertisements that did not specify a city from which flights departed did not need to state that the advertisers' flights departed from Stansted. The Authority nevertheless noted a footnote in the advertisement stated that the quoted prices were "available on all flights except Fridays and Sundays". It considered that readers would infer that the quoted fares were applicable to flights from all the advertisers' departure locations. Because they were not, the Authority considered that the advertisement was misleading.
2. Complaint upheld
The advertisers acknowledged that the complainant would not be able to get a flight from Manchester or Liverpool to Dublin for £26 return. They provided evidence to show that thousands of passengers had made return flights from Stansted to Dublin for around £26 during the promotion. The Authority noted the advertisers had shown that flights were available, from the UK, at the stated price but considered that the advertisement misleadingly implied that the quoted prices were available from all the advertisers' departure locations, including Manchester and Liverpool. The Authority recommended the advertisers remove or clarify the footnote or state the departure location to which the fares related.
3. & 4. Complaints not upheld
The advertisers explained that they had implemented ticketless travel and sent computer printouts to show the number of passengers that had flown to Pisa, Biarritz and Stockholm for the quoted prices. Because the documents showed that flights to Pisa, Biarritz and Stockholm were available at the advertised prices, the Authority considered that the advertisers had demonstrated the acceptability of the advertisement.