UK’s advertising watchdog, The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has slammed the British Midlands International (BMI) for posting a “misleading” offer claiming 40 per cent off all flights.

BMI’s low cost airline bmibaby organized an internet advertisement campaign that read: “Up to 40 per cent off ALL flights!”

The ASA stated that the offer was misleading as custoers would assume that that there was a 40 per cent discount off the total cost of flight, however, the discount only applied to the value of the fare and not to airport taxes and charges.

The watchdog said that the customers would believe after reading the ad that the discount is on the whole fare, instead of scrolling down to read the terms and conditions. The ASA banned the advertisement in its present form and criticized the company for “exaggerating” the offer.

Bmibaby, which is a subsidiary of BMI owned by Lufthansa, said that the ad is not misleading as the terms and conditions clearly stated the details of the discount.