Best to worst airlines from Wizz Air to Jet2.com

New research, conducted by consumer champions Which?, has broken down the most and least popular airlines in a new UK passenger satisfaction survey. 

The survey, which was conducted in October 2023, recorded customer scores on overall satisfaction and the likelihood to recommend on both short and long-haul flights. 

Which?'s study relates to more than 10,000 flights and they also asked customers to share their thoughts on their boarding experience and value for money.

Wizz Air (44%) was ranked bottom for short-haul flights for the second year in a row. (PA/ Alamy) (Image: Alamy/PA)

What is the best airline for customer experience?

The new research revealed that the best airlines for long and short-haul flights were Singapore Airlines (83%) and Jet2.com (81%) respectively.

Rory Boland, editor of the magazine Which? Travel, said: “Air fares have soared in recent years, and the bare minimum passengers should expect in return for their hard-earned cash is a reliable service, with friendly, easy-to-access customer support when they are let down.

“While the likes of Jet2 continue to excel in this regard, our survey shows that passengers of many airlines are sadly being shortchanged – with high rates of last-minute cancellations, abysmal customer service and sneaky extra fees for luggage hiking up the final price.”

What is the worst airline for customer experience?

The worst performing in the survey for long-haul carriers were Lufthansa (56%), Air Canada (58%), American Airlines (59%) and British Airways (59%).

When it came to short-haul flights, Wizz Air ranked bottom for the second year in a row ( 44%).

Speaking about the survey, Marion Geoffroy, UK managing director at Wizz Air, said: “We do not consider the findings of this report to be representative or the methodology used to be transparent.

“Sample sizes are completely different for every airline.

“Only 124 Wizz Air passengers were surveyed, while Which? spoke to several thousand people who had flown with some of our competitors.

“We conduct customer satisfaction surveys across our network, and hundreds of thousands of passengers have said they are satisfied with the service we provide.”

Ryanair (47%), Iberia (49%) and Vueling (53%) then followed.

British Airways performed poorly in both the short and long-haul flight carriers categories. ( PA) (Image: PA)

British Airways performed poorly in both the short and long-haul flight carriers categories.

The airline received just two stars out of five for boarding experience and value for money, and achieved three stars for the other six categories assessed.

The company said it was hit by “several factors outside of our control” in 2023, such as strikes by air traffic controllers.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “We always work hard to get our customers to where they need to be on time.

“Like all airlines though, over the last year we’ve experienced several factors outside of our control that have had an adverse impact on our customers, such as adverse weather and air traffic control industrial action.

“We apologise to customers for any disruption they’ve faced during these challenging periods and again thank them for their understanding.”

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The news comes as UK air fares reached record highs in 2023.

Which? has said that the standard of service experienced by passengers last year often “fell well short of the mark”, with many people struggling to get support when needed.

The sight of passengers being “abandoned” in airport terminals when flights are delayed or cancelled “has become all too common”, it added.