Sharechat Logo

Freedom Air lands in watchdog's bad books

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Thursday 14th March 2002

Text too small?
Air New Zealand's (NZSE: AIR) discount carrier Freedom Air is in hot water again with the Commerce Commission for the way it advertises its fares.

The Commission is planning to prosecute the airline for allegedly misleading advertising which failed to properly disclose the full amount of the fares being promoted.

"In addition to the advertised airfares, passengers were required to pay costs in the form of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and insurance "levies" which were either not disclosed or inadequately disclosed in advertising," the Commission says.

"Also, the Commission alleges that the insurance "levy" was in fact an operational cost and that Freedom Air was inaccurately representing the nature of this cost."

This latest regulatory action follows a prosecution of Freedom Air in October 2000 for making false or misleading claims about the prices of its "Christmas airfare sale". That breach cost the airline $4,000.

The Commerce Commission says while its latest allegations relate to Freedom Air, it is concerned that other airlines might be advertising in a similar way.

"Other airlines might also be misrepresenting the costs of flights and the nature of insurance and other costs," says chairman John Belgrave.

"We are now investigating to see if this is a widespread practice or whether Freedom Air is the only airline operating in this way."

Mr Belgrave says consumers must be able to rely on the overall impression created by advertising in the travel industry and all important terms and conditions must be accurately and clearly explained.

He says the Commission will take further action if it finds other airlines are advertising in a misleading manner.

  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

Air NZ plans to raise stake in Virgin Australia to 25.9 percent after gaining approvals
Air NZ keeps balance sheet plump, holds back on dividends as fleet renewal looms
Air New Zealand plans to close Auckland maintenance facility, cut 180 jobs, union says
Air NZ's Safe Air unit cuts 84 jobs in Blenheim as contracts end
Air NZ agrees to settle cartel case, expects earnings at upper end of guidance
Air NZ lifts stake in Virgin Australia to 23 percent , may creep up to 26 percent
Air NZ backs down on challenge to cargo suit against regulator
Air New Zealand reviews Japan flights as decline in yen makes travel more expensive
Ex-Foodstuffs boss Carter to head up Air NZ board
Air NZ shares jump 5.6 percent as airline flags annual earnings to more than double