EasyJet ad banned for claiming bags available for £5.99

EasyJet has been told to drop its claim that hand luggage charges can be charged “at £5.99” after it failed to provide the advertising watchdog with evidence that passengers would be able to store their luggage in the cabin for that price.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said customers would assume they could take their bags on flights for £5.99 based on EasyJet’s statements.

The claim on EasyJet’s website comes from consumer group Which?, which says airlines often offer low fares but have additional charges. It was pointed out to ASA by.

EasyJet said: “We always aim to give our customers clear information on pricing and the aim of this page was to show customers real information about fares and charges.

“We always have large carry-on luggage available at the lowest price. In light of ASA’s feedback, we have made some changes to the page to ensure the information is as clear as possible for consumers.”

The statement on the website is intended to inform customers that the starting point for adding hand luggage is £5.99 and that this is an accurate price for a variety of routes.

The airline said the fact that no bags were available for less than that price meant the claim was not misleading.

Responding to Whichever’s complaint, the ASA said it had expected to see evidence that large cabin bags could be booked for £5.99 but EasyJet had not provided this.

He said consumers’ claim “from £5.99” would mean large carry-on bags would be available for that price on “a significant proportion of flight routes and dates”.

As a result, the watchdog decided the claim was misleading and told EasyJet not to use the phrase in the future.

EasyJet advised the ASA that the section of its website containing this claim was for informational purposes and not for marketing or promotional purposes.

The airline’s website now states: “Fares vary depending on demand, route, flight date and time of booking. You will see the exact price at the time of purchase.”

The airline said it was “unable to provide specific figures” as cabin baggage prices depend on a number of factors, including availability and demand.

It was stated that customers will be able to clearly see the actual price of cabin baggage when booking flights.

Travel expert Simon Calder said passengers flying on some budget airlines could face unexpectedly high baggage fees.

The cost of adding a standard cabin or checked baggage to some routes can increase the total price of the trip by up to 165%.

“If you want to take anything other than a small personal bag, you may have to pay more for it than your actual ticket,” he said.

Which? It said its own research showed typical cabin baggage prices for EasyJet were five times higher than the £5.99 claim.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said there was a “culture” of airlines that “use low headline fares, then charge exorbitant prices on top to get a standard carry-on bag.”

“It is frankly surprising that airlines think they can ignore the rules and mislead customers with unattainable prices, so it is absolutely right for the ASA to make this decision,” he said.

“When booking a trip, customers should consider choosing an airline without a cabin baggage add-on as this may be cheaper.”

Consumer rights expert Jane Hawkes said the problem was not unique to EasyJet.

“This only serves to reduce customer confidence [if airlines] It adds to the confusion around baggage,” he told the BBC.

Last year, European Union lawmakers voted to allow airlines to allow passengers to carry up to 7kg of hand luggage on board for free.

The law has not yet been implemented as it needs to be approved by member states.