ASA ruling against airline

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have upheld a complaint against easyJet Airline Co Ltd (EasyJet). After they published a webpage titled “Fees and charges”. Text under the subheading “Bags” stated “Large cabin bag From £5.99”.

Which?, the consumer protection group challenged whether the claim “from £5.99” was misleading and could be substantiated.

EasyJet explained that its “Fees and Charges” page was meant to provide information and should not be used for promotional or marketing purposes. Although they could not give exact figures, they confirmed that the advertised price was correct and available across various routes. EasyJet argued that the widespread availability of large cabin bags priced at £5.99, and the absence of bags priced below that, indicated that the page’s information was not misleading.

The ASA upheld this complaint and reasoned that, for EasyJet to make the above claim, they would have expected to see evidence that large cabin bags could be purchased for £5.99. As the claim could not be substantiated, the ASA found it to be misleading.