The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Virgin Atlantic ad after complaints it was “misleading”.
The ad, which promoted the world’s first transatlantic flight powered entirely by SAF, was deemed misleading in its unqualified claim that the aircraft was fuelled “100 per cent by sustainable aviation fuel”.
It has been ruled by the advertising watchdog that future Virgin Atlantic ads referencing SAF must now include information explaining the environmental impact of the fuel.
First aired in November, the ad claimed: “On 28 November, Virgin Atlantic’s Flight 100 will take to the skies on our unique flight mission from London Heathrow to JFK to become the world’s first commercial airline to fly transatlantic on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel.
“When they said it was too difficult, we said, ‘Challenge accepted’. Virgin Atlantic Flight 100. See the world differently.”
In December the ASA banned Air France, Lufthansa and Etihad Google ads after they were also found to have promoted misleading environmental claims.
The Advertising Standards Authority’s ruling on Virgin Atlantic’s ad stated that “Flight 100 was calculated to have delivered savings of 64 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil derived aviation fuel”.
But the watchdog believed the term “100 per cent sustainable fuel” could make consumers believe the flight did not produce any emissions at all.
Miles Lockwood, ASA’s director of complaints and investigations, said: “It’s important that claims for sustainable aviation fuel spell out what the reality is so consumers aren’t misled into thinking that the flight they are taking is greener than it really is.”
In response to the ruling, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We’re committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and key to this will be using sustainable aviation fuel, which is one of the most immediate levers to decarbonising long haul aviation.
“SAF is a term used globally by industry and government for fossil-alternative aviation fuels that adhere to specific sustainability criteria.
“While we are disappointed that the ASA has ruled in favour of a small number of complaints, we remain committed to open, accurate and transparent engagement on the challenge of decarbonisation.”
