Lufthansa criticised by advertising chiefs for website error
Lufthansa has been chastised by advertising watchdogs after a technical error on its website meant customers weren’t able to book a promotional fare that knocked more than £2,000 off the cost of First Class flights to Hong Kong.
A customer sparked an investigation into the airline when he tried to take advantage of the offer, which advertised flights from £3,999 when booked before November 19 last year for travel between January and March this year, only to find the cheapest fare was £5,606.
The airline provided the Advertising Standards Authority with proof that the discounted fares had been loaded onto its system, but it said that a technical error meant that at some point they became unavailable.
When it became aware of the error it corrected it immediately, but that was only the day before the booking deadline.
The ASA said it welcomed Lufthansa’s comment that it had taken steps to remedy the fault immediately. It did not uphold a complaint that the airline’s ad was intentionally misleading but its code required advertisers to "avoid causing unnecessary disappointment".
It added: "We were therefore concerned that the advertised fares were unavailable for a significant proportion of the promotional period. On that basis, we concluded that the ad breached the Code."
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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