03 March 2010

Ryanair wins ASA victory against Ã¢â¬ÅâœdenigratoryÃ¢â¬~ EasyJet ad

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint by Ryanair against arch rival easyJet.

The UK budget airline was ordered not to repeat advertising which claimed its Irish competitor did not fly passengers "to the place you actually booked".

The poster, which appeared on a train, suggested Ryanair flew to airports in the proximity of the cities promoted as destinations.

But Ryanair argued successfully that the ad was misleading because it implied people would not fly to the city they booked to whereas the advertising and website made clear where the airline flew to.

Upholding Ryanair’s complaint, the ASA said: "While we noted EasyJet’s argument that the ad was merely a comparison between airport locations, we were concerned that by listing the airports which Ryanair flew to but only referring to the ones EasyJet flew to in much smaller print at the bottom of the ad and by not giving any data which readers might use to make an assessment of the facts, the ad did not achieve that end.

"We considered the challenging tone of the headline 'Who loves flying you to the place you actually booked?' combined with the implication that Ryanair misled customers and flew them to airports different to the ones they had booked was denigratory."

EasyJet UK general manager Paul Simmons said: "It is a well-know fact that EasyJet flies to major airports whereas Ryanair serves out-of-town airfields which can be a two hour bus ride away from your destination.

"While we are disappointed by the ruling which is based on a technicality, we respect the ASA’s decision and will not repeat the advert in the same form."

by Phil Davies

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Your Comments (3)

We all know what Ryanair do

We all know Ryanair love flying you in the middle of nowhere most of the time. Because it costs them a lot less to do so. The very fact Hahn airport has Frankfurt in front of it is really a complete joke and don't even get me started on Stockholm Vasteras. Perhaps because I work in the industry and know that unless it's Gothenburg city or Belfast city, I just don't fly with them, or I am lucky enough to be travelling to a nearby hamlet near one of their "suburban" airports. Easyjet could have got this advert so right, yet they failed to take advantage of one of Ryanair's only weaknesses. Whilst Ryanair are still cheaper when you take into account the cost of the 90 minute airport transfer (Hahn - Frankfurt), it's not when my time = money (which it is) take that into account and they quickly become the more expensive option.

By Daniel Fell, Thursday, March 4, 2010
Nobody Wins.

Whoever you fly with - you need to get a bus into the city. Public displays of unrest just damage the travel industry.

By Garry Fielding, Thursday, March 4, 2010
Easyjet- you were wrong

It was not just a technicality Paul Simmons. You got it clearly wrong. But for your people to have got placed an ad that was obviously wrong when you could have got the message over correctly is unforgiveable. Fancy letting Michael O'Leary get one over on you.

By nigel wallington, Wednesday, March 3, 2010