Virgin Atlantic has become the latest carrier to be rapped over promotional claims regarding the environment, specifically over descriptions of its pioneering transatlantic sustainable-fuel flight last November.
The carrier conducted the Boeing 787-9 flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK with its engines powered solely by sustainable aviation fuel, rather than the current regulatory limit of a 50% blend.
But a Virgin Atlantic radio advertising campaign leading up to the 28 November flight had stated that it would be the “world’s first commercial airline to fly transatlantic on 100% sustainable aviation fuel”.
This description has been assessed by the UK advertising regulator, which rules that a “significant proportion” of listeners would understand the reference to mean the fuel used was 100% sustainable – rather than the aircraft flying only on sustainable fuel.
“They were unlikely to be aware of the extent to which fuels described as sustainable aviation fuel still had negative environmental impacts, and in what ways,” says the Advertising Standards Authority ruling on 7 August, adding that listeners were “likely to expect” that it had no negative environmental impact at all.
Virgin Atlantic says the use of 100% sustainable fuel typically reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 70%, compared with conventional jet fuel, and residual emissions from the one-off flight were mitigated through carbon removal.
Initial figures from the 787 service – which was designated ‘Flight 100’ – indicate that it cut carbon and particulate emissions respectively by 64% and 40%.
Virgin Atlantic had defended the advertisement’s wording, stating that it believed consumers would understand the context that the fuel was derived from sustainable sources – reducing but not eliminating greenhouse gases – and not interpret it to mean it did not generate emissions or had no adverse impact.
But the authority, while acknowledging that the promotional campaign specifically highlighted ‘Flight 100’, nevertheless rules it was “misleading”.
“We considered many listeners would be interested in seeking out airlines that were taking [environmental] action,” it says. “We therefore considered that information about [Flight 100’s] limitations in that regard constituted material information that would have an impact on the transactional decisions of those listeners.”
