Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Eurowings GmbH (Eurowings)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 15 July 2026
Law stated as at: 10 August 2026
What happened
A paid-for online search ad for airline Eurowings, spotted on 20 December 2025, promoted the ability to travel “more eco-friendly” and “climate-consciously” because of “CO2-compensation” and the option to offset “up to 100%” of carbon emissions per flight. The ASA investigated whether the ad created a misleading impression about the environmental benefits of flying with Eurowings.
The ASA considered that the ad’s overall impression would lead consumers to believe that booking with Eurowings could reduce the environmental footprint of their journey because of the compensation and offsetting options, reinforced by the “climate-consciously” claim. Consumers would expect that up to 100% of the emissions from their Eurowings flight could be fully offset.
In practice, Eurowings operated an optional multi-tiered package called “PlanetBlu”, available at checkout when purchasing flights on its website. For an additional fee, calculated by reference to the estimated CO2 emissions of the relevant flight, consumers could contribute towards sustainable aviation fuel usage and climate protection projects said to reduce carbon emissions.
However, the ASA drew a distinction between a payment calculated by reference to a flight’s estimated emissions and evidence that those emissions would be fully neutralised. Eurowings had not demonstrated that the scheme could deliver the full offset promised in the ad nor that consumers could reduce the environmental impact of a specific flight by booking with the airline.
The ASA concluded that the ad was likely to mislead about the environmental impact of travelling with Eurowings.
Why this matters
Greenwashing continues to be a key area of regulatory focus for the ASA, with the airline industry particularly in the spotlight. The ad was identified through the ASA’s Active Ad Monitoring system, demonstrating its continued use of an AI-driven tool to proactively detect potentially non-compliant advertising across targeted sectors. Businesses marketing voluntary offset or compensation schemes should ensure that any associated environmental claims are tightly aligned with what the underlying programme can actually deliver, and are supported by verifiable evidence.
