Flybe ad banned by watchdogs
An advert by Flybe offering fare-free flights has been banned by advertising watchdogs after they ruled that it was misleading.
A promotion on the airline’s website claimed passengers looking to travel between July 22 and December 14 would pay only taxes and charges if they booked by midnight on June 25.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint by one passenger who was unable to find a fare-free flight from Southampton to Belfast within the stated travel period.
In its defence Flybe claimed that 40% of flights on the Southampton to Belfast route had promotional fares available and, in total, just over 10% of the total seats on the route were included in the offer. However it said availability was weighted towards the autumn/winter months, which might have been why the complainant was unable to find a free flight.
Upholding the complaint, the ASA said there was nothing to indicate that the promotion was available only on "selected" flights and that the flash implied that every seat would be included in the promotion if booked by the stated end date and for travel within the specified travel period.
The Asa said the small print at the bottom of the page containing details of the promotion was not sufficient "because of both its lack of prominence and its non-specific nature, to counteract the impression given by the rest of the website that fare-free seats were available on all return flights booked by 25 June for travel within the specified period".
It went on: "We also noted that the fare-free flights were only available on selected routes, which was explained on the second page but not on the home page.
"We considered that the fact that only some flights on some routes contained seats at the promotional price was material information which should have been made clear to consumers in a prominent position on both pages of the website.
"Because it was not, we concluded that the claims to offer flights for the cost of taxes and charges only were misleading. "
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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