Virgin Atlantic becomes latest airline to have SAF ad banned

Manchester, United Kingdom - 17 October, 2021:Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 (G-VAHH ‘Dream Girl’) departing from Manchester Airport.
Sofia Geraghty
By Sofia Geraghty


A Virgin Atlantic advert that claimed the airline had created the world’s first ever flight to be 100 per cent powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been banned.

The UK watchdog the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said the radio advert was misleading in its unqualified “100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel” claim. It added that future ads must include information explaining the environmental impact of the fuel.

The advert did not accurately reflect the reality of the flight’s CO2 emissions 

“On the 28th of November, 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 per cent sustainable aviation fuel,” the ad said.

Airlines have previously only been allowed to use fossil fuels and up to 50 per cent SAF to power their flights.

The ASA objected to the ad, saying that listeners would assume that the fuel was 100 per cent sustainable when that is not the case.

Virgin Atlantic later confirmed that the flight produced the same level of CO2 as traditional jet fuel. Whilst SAF does cut down the emissions of carbon used in making the fuel, emissions created during the flight are still “significant” the ASA said.

“Because of that, it’s important that claims for sustainable aviation fuel spell out what the reality is so consumers aren’t misled into thinking that the flight they are taking is greener than it really is,” said ASA’s director of complaints and investigations Miles Lockwood.

Airlines need to be wary of misleading customers

Lockwood went on to say that businesses”need to be wary” of using statements such as 100 per cent sustainable.

“Claiming that a product or service is sustainable creates an impression that it is not causing harm to the environment and for that reason we expect to see robust evidence that this is the case.”

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson is quoted as saying: “We’re committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and key to this will be using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is one of the most immediate levers to decarbonising long haul aviation.

“SAF is a term used globally by industry and government for fossil-alternative aviation fuels that adhere to specific sustainability criteria.

“While we are disappointed that the ASA has ruled in favour of a small number of complaints, we remain committed to open, accurate and transparent engagement on the challenge of decarbonisation.”

Virgin is not the first airline to have its ads banned for greenwashing. Advertisements for Air France, Lufthansa and Etihad have also been banned for claiming to be more environmentally friendly than reality would dictate.

Air France, Lufthansa, Etihad ads banned for greenwashing

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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