Description
Austrian Airlines has been reprimanded by the Austrian advertising watchdog for a misleading advertisement about CO2 neutral flying. According to the commission, Austrian Airlines wrongly leads consumers to believe that CO2 neutral flying is possible. Earlier this year, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC) already ruled against KLM over similar claims. The RCC also required Shell to make adjustments to its statements about 'CO2 neutral' and 'CO2 compensated' driving.
Same claims as KLM
The complaint against Austrian Airlines was filed by the same Dutchman as the one against KLM: Eric Stam, a teacher at an aviation school. He noticed that Austrian Airlines advertised online in early August the possibility of flying CO2 neutral from Vienna to Venice to visit the Biennale, the world-famous art fair. Austrian Airlines did so with the slogan 'CO2 neutral zur Biennale fliegen? Für uns keine Kunst!' ('Flying CO2 neutral to the Biennale? No art for us!'). The Austrian airline claimed it could do so by using 100% SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel).
Misleading
This is misleading, Stam thought. "Austrian Airlines uses biofuel and that fuel itself is not CO2 neutral. Not in theory and not in practice. The ad suggests that SAF itself is CO2 neutral, given the words '100% SAF', but consumers have a right to know what fuel is involved and what net CO2 reduction is possible with it. It is very misleading to suggest that CO2 neutral flying is possible."
The Austrian Advertising Code Commission (Österreichische Werberat) agreed with Stam on this. The commission ruled that the ad did not meet the standards of the Austrian Advertising Code and recommended Austrian Airlines to amend the advertisement.
Environmental claims by Lufthansa Group
In Austria, environmental claims must be worded with extra care to avoid misunderstanding by consumers. Stam said, "Austrian Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group and we see that all brands under it aggressively advertise CO2 neutral flying through reforestation projects, the use of SAF or a combination of these."
