Flybe Swatted
November 27th 2007
Flybe Swatted
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against air company, Flybe, for its misleading advertisement earlier this year which made three erroneous claims about the level of train fares rises past and present, as well as claiming that Flybe was cheaper than rail. Following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (by Lord Faulkner of Worcester), the ASA investigated and has ruled (Ref A07-35546) that Flybe’s three claims breached the code. In its ruling the ASA says, ‘We told Flybe to ensure they made the basis of their claims clear in future and that they held evidence to support their claims before their ads were published. We advised them to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice team for their future advertising.’
Chris Austin, Director of Public Policy said, ‘The Flybe advertisement was a‘cheap shot’ and has been confirmed as misleading by the ASA. It is a clear demonstration that one of rail’s competitors has misled passengers and the wider public on rail pricing. The ASA rebuts the implication that the hypothesis put forward by Flybe was supported by ATOC when it was clearly not and it demonstrates that rail often offers better value that air, and of course, is a far more sustainable way to travel.’
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