The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is often referred to as the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) legal "backstop". On 9 April 2008, the ASA referred Ryanair to the OFT for repeated breaches of the non-broadcast advertising code (the CAP Code) and refusing to co-operate with the self-regulatory system. The OFT was invited by the ASA to take "appropriate action against Ryanair using the powers available to it".

In the two years prior to the referral, the ASA upheld nine complaints about Ryanair's advertisements. The complaints had included, for example, Ryanair making misleading and denigratory claims about competitors, the omission of significant conditions and not making clear any restrictions to days of travel.

On 3 July 2009, over a year after the ASA's referral, the OFT published the results of its investigation. According to the OFT's press release, Ryanair has "taken a number of voluntary steps to increase the clarity and transparency of its website and other advertising".

In fact, the "voluntary steps" mentioned in the press release appear to be no more than is required of all advertisers. For example, the press release specified Ryanair's agreement to include clear information about its Price Guarantee and to qualify, as necessary, any claims that Ryanair offers the lowest prices. It is likely to be seen as disappointing to other advertisers that, despite its continued breaches of the CAP Code, it appears that no sanctions have been imposed on Ryanair.

However, the agreement with the OFT does specify requirements that the ASA would have been unable to enforce: some of Ryanair's commitments to clarity relate to its website content, such as highlighting links to extra charges and terms and conditions on promotions. The monitoring of such content would not be capable of challenge by the ASA, as this content falls outside its present remit.

Further, the press release is worded such that Ryanair has "reached an agreement with the OFT". Although information regarding the format and precise terms of the "agreement" has not been released, it may be that breach of the agreement will result in sanctions being imposed.

It will be interesting to see whether this agreement does in fact ensure Ryanair's future compliance with the Codes.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 09/07/2009.