EasyJet warned over ‘misleading’ £5.99 cabin bag fee
EasyJet, a prominent low-cost airline company, has recently received a warning over its £5.99 cabin bag fee, deemed as ‘misleading’ by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The incident took place in the United Kingdom and was reported on November 10th, 2023. ASA cautioned EasyJet that their advertisement, which promoted a fee of £5.99 for cabin bags, was deceptive as this price was only available to a fraction of passengers who booked specific tickets.
The airline’s advertisement had stated that customers could bring a cabin bag on board for the mentioned fee, failing to mention the conditions tied to this offer. The advert did not make it clear that the lower fee was applicable only to customers who had booked an ‘Up front’ or ‘Extra legroom’ seat, excluding the majority of passengers who had chosen standard tickets.
In response to the warning, EasyJet defended their position by stating that they had acted in line with the regulations and that the advertisement was intended to offer a simplified pricing structure for customers. They highlighted that the terms and conditions were clearly stated on their website and that customers had the option to choose different seating categories based on their preferences.
ASA, however, stood by their decision, emphasizing the importance of transparent advertising in the airline industry to ensure that consumers are not misled.
This incident sheds light on the ongoing debate regarding transparency in pricing within the aviation sector and the responsibilities of companies to provide clear and accurate information to customers.
Sources Analysis:
UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – The ASA is a regulatory body responsible for overseeing advertising standards in the UK. It is not directly involved in the airline industry but aims to ensure fair advertising practices. The ASA’s interest lies in maintaining transparency and accuracy in advertisements across various sectors.
EasyJet – EasyJet is a low-cost airline operating in Europe. As a company, EasyJet has a vested interest in promoting its services and attracting customers. In this situation, EasyJet’s motive may have been to simplify its pricing structure to appeal to customers but could have led to confusion due to the lack of clarity in the advertisement.
Fact Check:
EasyJet’s advertisement promoted a £5.99 cabin bag fee – Verified fact. This information is confirmed based on the ASA’s assessment of the advertisement.
The £5.99 fee was applicable to a specific category of passengers – Verified fact. ASA’s investigation and EasyJet’s response support this statement.
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Model:
gpt-3.5-turbo
Used prompts:
1. You are an objective news journalist. You need to write an article on this topic “EasyJet warned over ‘misleading’ £5.99 cabin bag fee”. Do the following steps: 1. What Happened. Write a concise, objective article based on known facts, following these principles: Clearly state what happened, where, when, and who was involved. Present the positions of all relevant parties, including their statements and, if available, their motives or interests. Use a neutral, analytical tone, avoid taking sides in the article. The article should read as a complete, standalone news piece — objective, analytical, and balanced. Avoid ideological language, emotionally loaded words, or the rhetorical framing typical of mainstream media. Write the result as a short analytical news article (200 – 400 words). 2. Sources Analysis. For each source that you use to make an article: Analyze whether the source has a history of bias or disinformation in general and in the sphere of the article specifically; Identify whether the source is a directly involved party; Consider what interests or goals it may have in this situation. Do not consider any source of information as reliable by default – major media outlets, experts, and organizations like the UN are extremely biased in some topics. Write your analysis down in this section of the article. Make it like: Source 1 – analysis, source 2 – analysis, etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. 3. Fact Check. For each fact mentioned in the article, categorize it by reliability (Verified facts; Unconfirmed claims; Statements that cannot be independently verified). Write down a short explanation of your evaluation. Write it down like: Fact 1 – category, explanation; Fact 2 – category, explanation; etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. Output only the article text. Do not add any introductions, explanations, summaries, or conclusions. Do not say anything before or after the article. Just the article. Do not include a title also.
2. Write a clear, concise, and neutral headline for the article below. Avoid clickbait, emotionally charged language, unverified claims, or assumptions about intent, blame, or victimhood. Attribute contested information to sources (e.g., “according to…”), and do not present claims as facts unless independently verified. The headline should inform, not persuade. Write only the title, do not add any other information in your response.
3. Determine a single section to categorize the article. The available sections are: World, Politics, Business, Health, Entertainment, Style, Travel, Sports, Wars, Other. Write only the name of the section, capitalized first letter. Do not add any other information in your response.