BRITISH Airways has carried out its threat to issue a writ against Ryanair over an allegedly misleading advert, as exclusively reported in Travel Weekly on February 17.
BA claims the advert, which refers to it as ‘Expensive Ba****ds’, unfairly compares budget carrier Ryanair’s Stansted fares against Heathrow business prices.
The Advertising Standards Authority is currently investigating the advert.
Ryanair commercial director Tim Jeans said: “We stand by everything we have said and will contest the action.”
* A 20% rise in passenger numbers to 1.2m last year helped Ryanair increase third-quarter pre-tax profits to ú8m to December 31 1998.