Ad description
An e-mail, for air fares, viewed on 6 May 2011, was headed “Fly to Malaysia & South East Asia fr [sic] just £2 (Terms and Conditions apply) With Malaysia Airlines & Crystal Travel THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS FOR LIMITED PERIOD”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the ad was misleading, because he believed the fare did not include compulsory taxes and charges; and
2. the advertiser could substantiate the availability of the £2 flights to Malaysia & South East Asia.
3. The ASA challenged whether the ad was misleading, because it failed to include significant conditions, such as the end date of the promotion, the destinations to which the flights were available and the travel periods to which the offer applied.
Response
1., 2. & 3. Crystal Travel explained that they were a travel agent who promoted the Malaysia Airlines promotion. They explained that Malaysia Airlines confirmed that 10,000 economy class seats were available for £2, travelling from the UK to Malaysia, Honk Kong and various destinations in South East Asia. They explained that the offer was available for a sales period between 6 May and 17 May. They explained that the offer was available only on Malaysia Airline flights MH4 within a travel period between 15 August to 11 December 2011 and 16 January to 31 March 2012 and was subject to additional taxes. They explained that this was made clear in the terms and conditions.
Crystal Travel provided the ASA with an e-mail from Malaysia Airlines dated 13 May. The offer being available from 6 May until 17 May. The e-mail stated that customers may, at that stage, have difficulty in securing the £2 fare in both directions, but that the promotional fare could be combined with net market fares.
Crystal Travel provided the ASA with four invoices which they believed demonstrated that the customers had taken advantage of the offer.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA noted that rule 3.18 of the CAP Code stated “Quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers.” However, we noted that the price quoted in the ad did not include compulsory taxes and charges and, on that basis, we concluded that the ad breached the Code.
On this point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.4.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification), and 3.17 and 3.18 (Prices).
2. Upheld
We noted that the invoices provided by Crystal Travel showed that customers had purchased air fares for between £311.73 and £371.23. However, we noted that the invoices did not include a breakdown of the pricing. As such, we considered that the invoices did not demonstrate that flights from the UK to Malaysia or South East Asia were available for £2. On that basis, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
On this point, the ad breached CAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.11 (Exaggeration), 3.22 (Prices) and 3.27 (Availability).
3. Upheld
We noted that the ad stated “THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS FOR LIMITED PERIOD ... IT’S NOW OR NEVER!” and stated “Terms and Conditions apply”. However, we were concerned that the ad did not make clear the end date of the promotion. We also noted that the travel period during which the flights must be taken was not made clear in the ad. We considered that the travel period during which the flights must be taken was a significant factor which was likely to influence a consumer's understanding of the offer, and should have been made clear in the ad. Since the ad did not make clear significant conditions of the offer, we concluded that it was misleading.
On this point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), and 8.17 (Significant conditions for promotions)
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Crystal Travel to ensure that they made clear, significant conditions of promotions in the future. We also told Crystal Travel to ensure that, in all future ads, quoted prices included non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that applied to all or most buyers.
