MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Ryanair (RYA.L, RYAAY) said it welcomed today's ruling by the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, which found that eDreams advertising on Google was 'misleading' consumers and breached the CAP code.
Ryanair called on Google to ban this deceptive eDreams advertising until such time that eDreams stops misleading consumers by passing itself off as Ryanair.
The U.K. ASA reviewed a series of complaints from consumers who were deceived by eDreams masquerading as Ryanair and Easyjet using the airlines name, brand and logo in a blatant attempt to dupe consumers into booking higher priced tickets on eDreams than those available on the Ryanair.com website.
Ryanair believes that Google has allowed this advertising, which the ASA now confirms breaches the CAP code, because it directly boosts the number of 'click-throughs' on Google's paid for advertising search engine, thereby maximizing Google's advertising revenues at the expense of consumers.
Ryanair noted that it has repeatedly written to Google at the highest levels, including Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, enclosing hundreds of complaints by real customers who have been misled by eDreams false advertising on Google, and yet Google has failed/refused to take any action to prevent this deceptive advertising.
Meanwhile, a statement from an eDreams spokesperson said the company is encouraged by the ASA's acknowledgment that it can use relevant search terms and that it can promote its services as an Online Travel Agency through the use of search engine optimization.
'We are keen to work with the ASA to ensure that there is never any potential confusion for customers when they search for flight availability on the eDreams website,' the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added, 'There is no intention to imitate the appearance of specific airlines, as eDreams clearly indicates to its customers that they are on one of its own websites, rather than that of any airline, allowing them to view thousands of flight combinations in a matter of seconds to find the best value flights.'
eDreams said it continuously aims to ensure compliance with regulators and to operate in the best interest of consumers.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX