The national carrier finished at the bottom of the annual Which? airlines survey – coming joint last with Air Canada for long-haul flights. It was also rated 12th out of 16 carriers for short-haul travel.
For its annual airline satisfaction survey, the consumer champion surveyed travellers’ experiences of flying in the past year, analysing results for more than 9,000 flights in total. The survey was also highly critical of Ryanair and Wizz Air.
Poor scores
British Airways finished joint bottom with Air Canada out of 19 airlines for long-haul flights, both with a customer score of 62%. Both airlines scored a measly two stars out of five across several categories, including value for money, seat comfort and cabin environment.
Which? also found that British Airways had high levels of last-minute cancellations, with around 2% of flights cancelled within 24 hours of departure, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.
While British Airways performed slightly better than Ryanair for overall customer service, which includes experiences in the airport and on-board flights, separate in-depth research from the Which? Consumer Insight team shows the flag carrier has dropped below Ryanair for customer service satisfaction when travellers try to contact the airline.
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A spokesperson for British Airways disputed the findings and claimed its customers gave the carrier positive feedback.
A statement from the airline 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.”
Ryanair came bottom of the short-haul rankings with a score of 49%. The airline only managed a maximum of two stars in any category, scoring just one star for food and drink, seat comfort and boarding.
Which? was told by almost half (47%) of Ryanair passengers that the company did nothing at all during delays when asked whether airline staff provided explanations, information about their rights, or food and drink vouchers.
Wizz Air was just ahead of Ryanair with a customer score of 51% and a meagre two stars across all categories in Which?’s survey. Almost half (47%) of passengers lamented the booking process, which includes endless choices about which add-ons to pay for.
A Wizz Air passenger complained they felt “fleeced” when they saw how much it cost to actually check in a suitcase. This reflects previous Which? research that found that selecting add-ons with Wizz Air on some routes could increase the initial advertised charge by over four times.
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.”
Which are the best performing airlines?
Jet2 was the best performing short-haul airline with an impressive customer score of 80%. It was the fourth consecutive year Jet2 took first place in this category. The airline received high marks for customer service, booking, cleanliness and value for money.
Jet2 also had one of lowest rates of last-minute cancellations of any airline in the survey, with just 0.1% cancelled at short notice, according to CAA data.
Singapore Airlines was the top airline for long-haul flights (81%). It scored five out of five stars in most categories, including customer service, ease of boarding, cleanliness and cabin environment, while Etihad was second with 78%.
But both airlines missed out on Which? Recommended Provider status due to ‘no-show’ clauses, which mean they could cancel a passenger’s return flight if they miss the first leg of their journey.
Third-placed Emirates, which was named a Which? Recommended Provider, scored 77% and got five stars for the booking process and cabin environment.
‘Weak regulations’
Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?, said: “British Airways’ poor performance in our survey shows how far it has fallen from the days when it was seen as setting the standards others should aspire to.
“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.
“Some airlines seem to think they can get away with treating their customers badly, knowing they are unlikely to face consequences in a sector with weak regulations.”
