A paid-for Google ad by Wizz Air featuring the claim “one of the greenest choices in air travel” has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority found that it gave a misleading impression of the environmental impact of the budget airline’s flights.
This was because the advert failed to make the basis of the comparative claim clear or provide consumers with sufficient information to be able to verify comparisons with competitors.
The advert was picked up by the ASA’s active ad monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that break the rules, as part of a project looking into green claims in the airline sector.
The ASA said it considered “consumers would understand the claim ‘one of the greenest choices in air travel” in the ad as meaning that Wizz Air’s environmental impact was among the lowest of all the airlines operating flights to and from the UK.
“While we acknowledged that Wizz Air had based the claim on the type of aircraft they used, and the carbon emissions per passenger measured in CO2/RPK [the number of seat kilometres flown by paying passengers], that was not stated in the ad.
“Furthermore, the ad had not included information that would allow consumers to understand the comparison.
“Because the ad had not made clear the basis of the claim, or provided verifying information, we concluded it had breached the [advertising] code.”
The airline was told that the advert must not appear again in the form investigated.
“We told Wizz Air Hungary to ensure the basis of future comparative environmental claims was made clear and did not give a misleading impression of their flights’ environmental impact, and that ads provided sufficient information to enable consumers to verify comparisons with identifiable competitors or signposted consumers to such information,” the ASA ruled.
An ASA spokesperson added: “We understand that businesses are keen to promote their green initiatives, and we don’t want them to ‘greenhush’ for fear of being accused of ‘greenwashing’.
“However, it’s really important that consumers get the information they need to make informed decisions when it comes to the environment.”
In mitigation, Wizz Air pointed out that in was investing in new fuel efficient Airbus A320neo aircraft as well as in the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The airline also told the ASA that it had committed “billions of euros” to aiding the airline industry’s decarbonisation efforts and it was operating the youngest and most carbon-efficient fleet in Europe.
Wizz Air pointed out that it had established an independent sustainability and culture committee as part of its environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy and appointed a dedicated ESG Officer, who was a member of the senior leadership team.
“The independent committee ensured the company took environmental issues into account when defining the company’s strategy,” the airline said.
“As part of its duties, the committee ensured Wizz Air’s statements on sustainability adhered to legislation, and that claims were verified by data, assurance and benchmarking.”