Travellers were 'misled' by Ryanair

Published on Tuesday 26 July 2011 14:29

RYANAIR has been condemned by a watchdog for "misleading" holidaymakers into believing they could fly to Dublin to celebrate New Year for £7.

The advertisement, published in national newspapers, stated: "To be honest we here in Dublin aren't that upset about waving goodbye to the past year but that doesn't mean we won't be celebrating its final few breaths in typical Irish fashion."

Rival budget airline easyJet complained that the ad "misleadingly implied it was possible to travel to Dublin to celebrate New Year's Eve from 7", whereas the smallprint stated the promotion was for travel between January and March.

Ryanair said the travel period had been extended, but this was "missed during their sign-off process". It also said the ad was run in co-operation with Tourism Ireland, which provided the text.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld the complaint and ordered that the ad must not reappear.

In April two Ryanair ads and one easyJet ad were banned after they were found to have made false claims relating to cheap flights.

Last year the ASA was forced to intervene after easyJet "denigrated" its rival by suggesting Ryanair did not fly passengers to the destinations they had booked. And a legal row over a Ryanair ad which likened easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to Pinocchio resulted in the carrier paying out undisclosed libel damages.