ASA refers Ryanair to Office of Fair Trading

09 April 2008

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has asked the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to consider taking action against the budget airline Ryanair under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 (as amended). The ASA referral follows a catalogue of breaches of the Advertising Codes by Ryanair and their unwillingness to comply with ASA rulings.

Through misleadingness and unfair comparisons Ryanair has repeatedly breached the CAP Non-broadcast Advertising Code, which is designed to protect consumers and promote fair competition. Over a two-year period the ASA has formally investigated complaints about Ryanair’s advertisements and found them in breach on seven occasions. Separately, the ASA has also found Ryanair in breach of the Broadcast TV Advertising Standards Code.

The ASA found that Ryanair were persistently misleading consumers by:

• Making exaggerated claims about the extent of availability of flights at the advertised price
• Advertising prices that were not inclusive of taxes and charges
• Making misleading and denigratory comparisons with competitors
• Not stating clearly significant restrictions that would exclude customers from taking advantage of an offer, and
• Not providing evidence to prove the claims they were making.

The OFT acts as the legal backstop to the ASA in respect of misleading non-broadcast advertising. Formal referrals to the OFT by the ASA are rare, the most recent being in 2005, and are only made once it has been established that an advertiser is unable to work within the rules.

Of the OFT referral, Director General of the ASA, Christopher Graham says “It is very disappointing, but absolutely necessary, that we have had to take this course of action. The ASA has given Ryanair every opportunity to put its house in order and ensure that its advertising adheres to the Codes. Instead, they have continued to mislead consumers and denigrate competitors. We would prefer to work with advertisers within the self-regulatory system rather than call in a statutory body, but Ryanair’s approach has left us with no option but to refer them to the OFT who will consider appropriate action.”