The regulator said there was insufficient evidence to show that the price was genuinely available across a meaningful range of routes and travel dates. As a result, the ASA has banned the airline from using the claim in its marketing and instructed it to ensure that any future “from” prices reflect costs available on a significant proportion of flights.
Large cabin bags, which are designed to be stored in overhead lockers, are subject to additional charges among low-cost airlines, forming a growing source of extra revenue within the sector.
EasyJet said in a statement: “We always aim to provide clear information to our customers on pricing, and the purpose of this page was to display factual information on fees and charges to customers.
“We always have some large cabin bags available for the lowest price.
“In light of the ASA’s feedback we have made some changes to the page to ensure the information is as clear as possible for consumers.”
The ASA’s decision follows an investigation by the consumer group Which?, which examined 520 easyJet flights and found that none offered the large cabin bag at the advertised £5.99 rate.
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The lowest price identified was £23.49, while the average charge was £30.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said the findings highlighted a wider issue within the airline industry.
He described it as “astonishing” that airlines believed they could promote prices that were effectively unattainable, adding: “Our recent investigation found that there is a culture of airlines using low headline fares – then charging exorbitant prices on top to take a standard cabin bag.
“The easyJet cabin bag prices we collected were typically five times as much as the ‘from £5.99’ it claimed.
“When booking a trip, customers should consider choosing an airline without cabin bag add-ons as it may work out cheaper.”