BA ordered to amend ‘direct flight’ marketing
British Airways has been ordered to change the way it advertises direct flights on its website to make it easier for customers to see the number and location of any stops en-route.
It has also been told that it must make it clear if passengers will be expected to disembark the aircraft during any stops, even if there is no change of aircraft.
The ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority followed two complaints from customers who had booked BA direct flights from London to Sri Lanka without realising the services stopped en-route.
BA argued that its website distinguished between ‘direct’ and ‘connecting’ flights. It pointed out that in aviation terminology a "connecting" flight was one that involved a change of aircraft, flight number and, sometimes, carrier; a "direct" flight might involve a stop, but would not require passengers to change aircraft.
The flight times and duration were clearly displayed on the web page and BA said because of that, and because there was no change of aircraft during the journey, it did not consider the claim "Outbound direct flights" misleading.
Information about the stop was included in a box that was displayed when consumers clicked on the flight number.
Although the Advertising Standards Authority accepted that the term ‘direct’ was commonly used by the airline industry to refer to flights which may or may not include en-route stops, whereas a "non-stop" flight was one which did not contain any intermediate landings, it said the existence of stops should be made clearer on BA’s website.
"We noted that those definitions were reflected in a glossary of terms produced by the International Air Transport Association," it said. "We understood that in some cases local immigration rules in the country in which the stop was made required travellers to disembark the aircraft.
"We considered that, where a flight was described as "direct" but included intermediate landings, that claim should be accompanied by clear and prominent information as to the number and location of en-route stops.
"Further information should be given where it was the case that passengers would be required to disembark the aircraft."
It told BA to ensure it included ‘clear and prominent’ information about the number and location of en-route stops and, where relevant, the fact that travellers would be required to disembark the aircraft.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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