Virgin Atlantic shot down over 'sustainable fuel' ad

Virgin Atlantic has had its wings clipped by the advertising watchdog over a radio ad which claimed that sustainable aviation fuel is “100% sustainable”.

The ad, heard on November 24 2023, stated: “On November 28th, 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% sustainable aviation fuel. When they said it was too difficult, we said: challenge accepted. Virgin Atlantic Flight 100. See the world differently.”

However, five complainants, who believed the claim “100% sustainable aviation fuel” gave a misleading impression of the fuel’s environmental impact, challenged the Advertising Standards Authority whether it was misleading and could be substantiated.

In response, Virgin Atlantic denied the ad was misleading, as the wording ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ mirrored that of a UK Department for Transport (DfT) competition which pledged to support the industry in carrying out the ‘first net zero transatlantic flight’.

The airline also claimed that most consumers would understand ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ to refer to fuel made completely from sustainable sources, which reduces but does not completely eliminate greenhouse gases.

Virgin said it did not think consumers would believe the fuel itself was 100% sustainable or that it had no adverse affect on the environment.

The company backed up its argument by providing the results of a consumer survey to show what recipients understood from the ad. It found that the majority (68%) understood that sustainable aviation fuel was better for the environment than traditional jet fuel, but that it was not without any adverse impact.

However, the ASA was having none of it.

In its ruling, the watchdog stated: “The ASA considered that while many listeners would understand from the ad that Flight 100 had, uniquely, flown transatlantic using only sustainable aviation fuel, a significant proportion would understand the claim ‘100% sustainable aviation fuel’ to mean that the fuel used was 100% sustainable.

“We therefore considered that in the absence of information in the ad which explained that sustainable aviation fuel produced reduced, but still significant, emissions over its full lifecycle, including in-flight emissions, and which explained the ways in which the fuel otherwise significantly adversely impacted the environment, a significant proportion of listeners were likely to overestimate its environmental benefits.”

Concluding that the unqualified claim “100% sustainable aviation fuel” was misleading. The ASA ruled the ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 and 3.2 (Misleading advertising), 9.2, 9.3, and 9.5 (Environmental claims).

It warned Virgin Atlantic to ensure that future ads which referred to the use of sustainable aviation fuel included qualifying information which explained the environmental impact of the fuel.

The ASA has previously banned ads from Air France, Etihad and Lufthansa over claims about sustainable fuel.