EasyJet told to stop advertising misleading £5.99 large cabin bag after watchdog ruling
EasyJet has been ordered to stop advertising large cabin bags as costing “from £5.99” after the UK’s advertising watchdog ruled that the claim was misleading.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said passengers would reasonably expect that price to be available on a meaningful number of flights. But when asked to back it up, EasyJet could not show evidence that travellers could actually add a large cabin bag for £5.99 across a wide range of routes and dates.
The case was brought against EasyJet by consumer group Which?, which has long criticised airlines for promoting cheap headline fares while charging extra for essentials like baggage. Its investigation looked at 520 EasyJet flights and found that none offered a large cabin bag for £5.99. The cheapest price that was found for a large cabin bag was £23.49, with the average coming in at £30.
Large cabin bags are the type that go in overhead lockers, and most budget airlines charge extra for them. The ASA said that using a “from” price only works if that lowest amount is genuinely available on a significant proportion of flights - something that it concluded wasn’t happening here. As a result, EasyJet has been banned from using the £5.99 wording in future marketing.
EasyJet argued that the price did exist on some routes and that bag fees depend on factors like demand, availability and booking time. It also said that customers always see the exact price before paying.
In a statement, the airline said: “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.”
Which? welcomed the ruling, saying that it highlighted a wider problem in the industry. Rory Boland, editor of 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.”
The ASA’s decision adds to growing scrutiny of airline pricing, as regulators and consumer groups push for clearer, more upfront costs for travellers.
