Ad description
A website for FlixBus UK Ltd, a coach travel company, seen on 19 July 2025, stated “Affordable coach travel from just £4.49*” at the top of the home page. Text at the very bottom of the page stated “*Subject to availability. Booking fee included.”
Issue
The complainant, who had only found limited tickets at the advertised price, challenged whether the ad was misleading because it exaggerated the availability of the advertised tickets.
Response
Flixbus UK Ltd provided sales and availability data for the period June 2025 to December 2025. That included both the actual sales figures for tickets at £4.49 or less and the number of tickets on offer, at that price, per pre-booking day during the given period. They showed for the UK that an average of six per cent of the total tickets on offer per pre-booking day during the given period, were priced at £4.49 or less.
They stated that in the context of the bus travel industry, prices were characterised by strong seasonal fluctuations and route-specific demand, unlike static retail pricing. They explained that the proportion of ultra-low fares naturally decreased during high-demand months like summer and Christmas, whilst low fares were more widely available during off-peak months. However, taken as a whole the figures showed that a significant number of tickets were priced at £4.49 or less and therefore consumers benefited from the claim. They believed on that basis the “from” claim in the ad did not exaggerate the availability or number of tickets available to consumers.
Flixbus further believed the qualification “Subject to Availability” clarified that the availability of tickets depended on seasonality and distance and therefore did not add any further qualifying language. They confirmed that the advertised price was available across all relevant routes, travel dates and booking windows. They also confirmed that the ad was active from 2024 till present.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “Affordable coach travel from just £4.49*” to mean that a significant proportion of fares across the UK would be available to purchase at £4.49 from July 2025, when the ad was seen, for any given booking period. We also considered that consumers would expect to find the tickets available at the “from” price across a range of dates and times, and that they would have a reasonable chance of obtaining a seat at the advertised price. We therefore expected to see evidence demonstrating that a significant proportion of the available tickets could be purchased at the “from” price of £4.49 across a range of dates.
We assessed the availability data provided. It showed that in June 2025, three per cent of the total tickets on offer per pre-booking day that month were priced at the advertised price of £4.49 or less. That percentage increased to six per cent in July 2025 and four per cent in August 2025. Whilst there was a significant increase in the months September to December 2025, we noted that between June 2025 and December 2025 overall, an average of six per cent of the total tickets on offer per pre-booking day during those months, were priced at the advertised price of £4.49 or less. In light of that, we considered that there was not a significant proportion of fares available across the UK between June 2025 and December 2025.
We noted the proportion of available tickets was influenced by seasonal fluctuations, for instance 15 per cent availability in October 2025 compared to four per cent in August 2025. While the ad included the qualification “subject to availability,” we considered that the overall price claim would be interpreted by consumers to mean that a significant proportion of seats priced from £4.49 would be available throughout the year. As a result, it was not sufficient that certain months had increased availability because overall the availability data did not demonstrate a significant proportion at the advertised price.
We therefore concluded the ad exaggerated the availability of the proportion of tickets available at the advertised price and was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.17 and 3.22 (Prices).
Action
We told Flixbus UK Ltd to ensure that when using “from” price claims in future, a significant proportion of the advertised tickets were available at the advertised price throughout the given period for which the promotion was live.
