Major UK airline rapped over ‘misleading’ baggage claim
The airline told the regulator its advertised price was accurate and available on various routes
EasyJet has been reprimanded by a regulator after its claim that adding large cabin bags to flight bookings cost "from £5.99" was deemed "misleading".
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found "insufficient evidence" that this price was genuinely available "across a range of flight routes and dates".
The ASA has now banned the airline from using the phrase in marketing communications.
EasyJet must ensure that any future "from" prices for large cabin bags reflect a lowest price accessible "across a significant proportion of flights".
Large cabin bags are designed for overhead lockers, with most low-cost airlines charging extra for them.
EasyJet told the regulator its advertised price was accurate and available on various routes, but acknowledged prices varied due to availability, demand, and operational costs.
It added that the actual price for a particular booking was clearly displayed before purchase to ensure transparency.
The ASA’s ruling on easyJet follows an investigation by consumer group Which? finding the price for adding a large cabin bag was more than £5.99 on all 520 easyJet flights analysed.
The lowest price found was £23.49 and the average was £30.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said: “It’s frankly astonishing that airlines think they can ignore the rules and mislead customers with unattainable prices, so it’s absolutely right that the ASA has made this ruling against easyJet as a result of our complaint.
“Our recent investigation found that there is a culture of airlines using low headline fares – then charging exorbitant prices on top to take a standard cabin bag.
“The easyJet cabin bag prices we collected were typically five times as much as the ‘from £5.99’ it claimed.
“When booking a trip, customers should consider choosing an airline without cabin bag add-ons as it may work out cheaper.”
EasyJet said in a statement: “We always aim to provide clear information to our customers on pricing, and the purpose of this page was to display factual information on fees and charges to customers.
“We always have some large cabin bags available for the lowest price.
“In light of the ASA’s feedback we have made some changes to the page to ensure the information is as clear as possible for consumers.”
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