Budget airlines rapped over adverts

EasyJet and Ryanair have been rapped by a watchdog for “misleading” holiday-makers in the latest battle of the budget airlines.

Three advertisements, published in national newspapers, were banned after they were found to have made false claims relating to cheap flights.

EasyJet was slammed for the bold statement: “We charge you less”, while its Irish arch-rival – which complained to the Advertising Standards Authority – was itself pulled up over two separate promotions.

The first easyJet offer, headlined “The new shape of business travel”, sparked anger from its competitor, which insisted its own fares were cheaper on a number of routes.

Ryanair’s objection was upheld and easyJet was ordered not to run the advertisement again in its current form.

However, Michael O’Leary’s carrier did not escape unscathed after the watchdog ordered it to pull two of its own promotions.

One, featuring a bikini-clad woman holding a cocktail and the text “Book to the sun now!”, offered flights from £8.

However, a close examination revealed customers were limited to destinations with maximum temperatures of 11 C. In some places, the mercury dropped as low as 0 C during the promotional period.

Meanwhile, the selected tourist spots enjoyed as little as three hours of sunshine each day, the watchdog said.

“We considered that the average consumer would infer from the claim ‘Book to the sun now’ and the image of the woman sunbathing, in a bikini, with a cocktail, that the promotion included fares to destinations warm enough to ­sunbathe in swimwear during the promotional period,” it added.

“Because we understood this was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

The second Ryanair advertisement, which offered flights to Dublin for £27.99, sparked complaints on the grounds that it was apparently impossible to book a flight at the price quoted because of an additional £6 online check-in fee.Ryanair was unable to “clarify adequately” how the promotional fare could be achieved, the watchdog said.

Responding to the ASA, easyJet said it believed its competitor did not offer business travellers an equivalent product or fly to the same major airports. Consequently, it said Ryanair had not been included in the “We charge you less” comparison. Accepting the watchdog’s decision, a spokesman for the Luton-based airline said: “easyJet is happy to comply with the ASA’s ruling on this technical point. “We were surprised to hear that Ryanair had concerns over this advertisement as it is the first time that they have ever expressed any interest in the business traveller.”