Airline that once ruled the skies branded ‘dreadful’ in major customer survey | UK | News

British Airways (BA) has been awarded the title of worst airline for long-haul flights in a survey of nearly 8,000 passengers.

BA, along with Air Canada, came joint bottom out of 19 airlines with a score of 62%.

Which? rated long and short-haul airlines according to their boarding process, seat comfort, last minute cancellation policy, punctuality, cleanliness, cabin environment, quality of onboard food and drink and value for money.

Over 9,000 flights were rated in the consumer group’s survey. Among 7,828 passengers, Singapore Airlines was considered to be the top airline for long-haul flights – with a score of 81% – while Jet2 came first for short-haul journeys with a score of 80%.

Ryanair finished bottom of the short-haul table in the survey Which? said highlighted the gulf in standards between the best and worst performing airlines.

BA and Air Canada scored a measly two stars out of five across several categories including value for money, seat comfort and cabin environment.

Which? also looked in depth at satisfaction with airlines’ customer service and found a huge disparity in customer service standards at different airlines.

It said out of all airlines both short haul and long haul customer services at Jet2 and Emirates performed very well while Wizz Air and Ryanair customers were least satisfied.

BA also has high levels of last-minute cancellations, with around two per cent of flights cancelled within 24 hours of departure, according to CAA data.

One Which? survey respondent complained of the airline cancelling their flight by text in the early hours of the morning, leaving them struggling to rearrange their plans. 

BA performed slightly better than Ryanair for overall customer service, which includes experiences in the airport and on-board flights.

But separate in-depth research from the Which? Consumer Insight team shows BA has dropped below Ryanair for customer service satisfaction when travellers try to contact the airline. 

While Jet2 achieved a net satisfaction score of +87 and the sector average was +52, BA (+40) was behind Ryanair (+42). Both airlines were ahead of Wizz Air, which was bottom with a score of +15.

A spokesperson for British Airways claimed the research from Which? was entirely at odds with comments from “hundreds of thousands of customers”.

A spokesperson said: “Their feedback tells us customers are seeing the benefit of our £7bn investment programme, with operational performance improving by 18% over the last 12 months, partnered with the introduction of new aircraft, the unveiling of our new First seat, free Wi-Fi messaging on flights and upgrades to nine of our lounges.

“There is always room for improvement and we know we don’t always get things right, but we’re proud of the progress we’re making and will continue to focus on delivering the best possible service for our customers.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Ryanair this year will carry 200m passengers…Not one of our 200m passengers wish to pay ‘higher prices’ as Which? falsely claim.”

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Which? is yet again misleading the public with a survey that has a staggeringly small sample size.

“Wizz Air flew over 12 million passengers in the UK over the last year and Which? only surveyed 109 Wizz Air customers – less than 0.001% of our customer base. It is therefore not a fair or accurate representation of Wizz Air’s industry-leading operational performance and significantly improved customer service. 

“Last year, Wizz Air was the second most punctual airline in the UK, and over the survey period in question, the airline’s flight completion rate was 99.4%, one of the highest in the entire industry.”

According to Cirium, Wizz Air UK was the second most punctual airline in the United Kingdom in 2024 with a 70.54% on-time arrival record.

76-year-old Joanne Anderson, from Belfast, battled to get a refund for a cancelled flight from BA for more than two months.

She had booked a return flight from Belfast to Exeter to visit her daughter and two grandchildren – but her flight to England on November 28 was cancelled due to bad weather. The flight was booked with BA but operated by Aer Lingus.

The pensioner booked alternative flights and requested a refund from BA for the £237.28 she had paid – but this was just the start of a stressful ordeal involving multiple lengthy phone calls, emails and letters to two airlines and her credit card company. 

Ms Anderson told Which? that BA confirmed they would be processing and paying her refund after receiving information from Aer Lingus. BA eventually paid the refund on January 30, more than two months after her flight was cancelled.

Ms Anderson told Which?: “They told me in November that my refund would be with me in 7-10 days. I spent so many hours on the phone trying to sort it out – each time I spoke to BA they told me the refund was on its way but nothing happened.

 “It feels like they are making a fool of their customers. They want to frustrate them until they just give up and go away.

“To think British Airways is supposed to be the flag carrier – now they are absolutely dreadful. I will never fly with them again if I can possibly avoid it.”