Ryanair facing OFT investigation

RYANAIR faces an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in Britain after a catalogue of complaints over its advertisements.

The carrier has been accused by the Advertising Standards Authority of breaching rules seven times in two years, by making exaggerated claims about flight availability at advertised prices and misleading customers by quoting prices that omitted taxes and charges.

The authority added that Ryanair made disparaging comparisons with competitors.

The director of the authority, Christopher Graham, said formal referrals to the office are rare, the most recent one being made in 2005.

Ryanair said last week that it complained to the office about the authority’s rulings, calling them “unfair, biased and factually untrue”.