OFT welcomes changes to Ryanair ads

by Colin Marrs, campaignlive.co.uk 03-Jul-09, 14:35

LONDON - The Office of Fair Trading has welcomed steps taken by the no-frills airline Ryanair to make its ads clearer about the prices of its flights.

The OFT had entered into discussions with Ryanair after the Advertising Standards Authority referred the airline to it.

Now, Ryanair has agreed to a number of steps to clarify its prices in its advertising.

OFT Director of Consumer Markets, Mike Haley, said: "We welcome Ryanair's action which we believe will make it easier for consumers to access the information they need when choosing low cost flights."

The OfT said Ryanair has agreed to:

Provide clear information about Ryanair's price guarantee and qualify any statements that Ryanair is guaranteed to offer the lowest prices;
Give higher prominence to links on its website and in e-mail promotions that contain information about optional services and charges such as for checked-in baggage;
Give higher prominence to links on its website and in e-mail promotions containing information about terms and conditions applicable to promotional offers,such as the days or dates on which offer prices are not available.

The agreement reached between Ryanair and the OFT concludes the OFT's consideration of the ASA referral.