Ryanair has replaced Wizz Air at the bottom of Which?’s annual airline satisfaction survey, while British Airways and Air Canada were ranked as the worst long-haul carriers.
In its annual poll, the consumer champion surveyed more than 9,300 travellers’ experiences of flying, between November and December 2024.
Passengers rated their airlines on 11 criteria, including customer service, value for money, seat comfort and food and drink.
Ryanair was rated as the worst short-haul airline, with a 49% customer score. Across all categories, the airline managed a maximum of only two stars – scoring just one star for food and drink, seat comfort, and boarding.
Almost half of those surveyed (47%) told Which? that the airline did nothing during delays to provide an explanation or to rectify the situation.
A Ryanair passenger told Which? that they would rather pay a higher price than get a cheap flight and ‘pay extra for everything’.
A Ryanair spokesperson told Which?: “Ryanair this year will carry 200m passengers… Not one of our 200m passengers wishes to pay ‘higher prices’, as Which? falsely claims.”
The findings place Wizz Air just ahead of Ryanair with a customer score of 51%, which it secured through a meagre two stars across all categories.
A Wizz Air spokesperson described the findings from a ‘taggeringly small sample size’, which they said were less than 0.001% of the airline’s customer base, claiming that the results were ‘misleading’.
The spokesperson noted that the airline was rated the second most punctual in the UK last year, according to flight data company Cirium.
“This year, we will be making further improvements to ensure passengers have a smooth and enabling travel experience while ensuring we have the best solution in place in the event of an unexpected disruption,” the spokesperson said.
Jet2 was once again the best-performing short-haul airline with a customer score of 80%. The airline boasted a low rate of last-minute cancellations, with around 2% of flights cancelled within 24 hours of departure, according to CAA data.
British Airways and Air Canada were rated as the worst long-haul airlines, with a customer score of 62%.
Both airlines scored only two out of five stars across value for money, seat comfort, food and drink, and cabin environment.
BA was also highlighted as having high levels of last-minute cancellations, with around 2% of flights cancelled within 24 hours of departure, according to CAA data.
A BA spokesperson told Which? that the findings of the survey are ‘at odds’ with the feedback from the majority of its customers.
“There is always room for improvement, and we know we don’t always get things right, but we are proud of the progress we’re making and will continue to focus on delivering the best,” it said.
Which? Travel Editor Rory Boland said: “There’s a clear disparity between airlines at the top and at the bottom of the rankings. The top performers show it is possible to give passengers good service at a time when delays, cancellations, and terrible customer service have become almost the norm.”
