Ferry companies slam no-frills ads

The ferry industry has declared a victory against certain no-frills airlines by forcing them to change their advertising. The Sail and Drive campaign, a union of ten ferry companies, complained to the Advertising Standards Agency about adverts posted by Ryanair, FlyBE and MyTravelLite. The complaints were based on the fact that the ads ?contravene advertising codes and potentially mislead consumers?. ASA has upheld the complaints and agreed that the advertising was in breach of the British Code of Advertising. According to a spokesman for Sail and Drive, ASA has approached the airlines to make sure future advertising is less misleading. In the case of the FlyBE, the advert did not make it clear which Belfast airport was being used by the carrier. The complaint about the MyTravelLite advert was that it implied that customers could fly to multiple destinations from Manchester airport when infact this was not the case. Finally the Ryanair advert failed to include taxes and charges in quoted prices. Head of Sail and Drive campaign, Bill Gibbons said: ?Airlines seem to show a reluctance to abide by the basic advertising rules that are designed to protect the consumer. We will keep up our lobbying with government and regulators to put a stop to this for one and for all.? The Sail and Drive campaign consists of ten ferry operators: Brittany Ferries, DFDS, Fjord Line, Hoverspeed, Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries, P&O Irish Sea, SeaCat, SeaFrance and Stena Line. Report by Ginny McGrath