RTÉ's POPULAR No Frontierstravel programme engaged in improper product placement and gave undue prominence to Aer Lingus at the expense of Ryanair, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has found.
The BAI’s compliance committee said a report which highlighted Aer Lingus’s service but failed to mention Ryanair’s flights to a French destination amounted to advertising for Aer Lingus.
Ryanair complained to the BAI about the programme, broadcast on March 7th this year. It involved presenter Jenny Buckley, who travelled to La Rochelle.
Ryanair said No Frontiershas regularly promoted Aer Lingus flights and ignored theirs, even when their services were cheaper and closer to the destination.
In the "getting there" part of No Frontiers, viewers were told Aer Lingus would fly four times weekly between Dublin and Bordeaux from the end of March this year.Bordeaux is nearly 200km away from La Rochelle. The show did not mention that Ryanair flies directly to La Rochelle from Dublin and Cork.
Ryanair said RTÉ was influenced by the fact Aer Lingus advertised with the broadcaster, and both entities had a common major shareholder in the Government.
The BAI found the programme maker had a right to enter a sponsorship arrangement with Aer Lingus, but in this case undue prominence was given to that same airline.
