Irish rivals ranked almost first and last in latest Which? Holiday airline satisfaction survey . . . Aer Lingus scores high, Ryanair lags
If you’ve ever had a great, or awful, flight, this month’s Which? Magazine airline satisfaction survey makes interesting reading. Carriers were rated in various categories, including cleanliness, leg room, food and beverages, inflight entertainment, dealing with delays, value for money and the increasingly controversial “baggage allowance” category.
Short-haul
Top of the short-haul league comes Swiss, ranked highest of all for its clean planes, punctuality and customer service, while Ireland’s Aer Lingus, famous for its friendly cabin crew and good, old-fashioned service, is the runner-up. Irish rival Ryanair trailed far behind, pipped for last place by Thomas Cook Airlines while the UK’s national but not currently favourite airline British Airways made the 11th spot.
Devon and Cornwall-based Flybe got to eighth place beating a number of leading European carriers making it the highest-rated British-owned carrier.
In the battle of the no-frills giants, EasyJet fared better than Ryanair, scoring more points for cleanliness, checked bag allowance and dealing with delays.
Long-haul
In the long-haul division British Airways was again ranked 11th (out of 17 long distance carriers). Air New Zealand came out top, followed by Singapore Airlines and Emirates. BA’s rival Virgin Atlantic scored somewhat better in 7th place than British Airways but, as with the short-haul category, Britain’s airlines made a mediocre showing compared to other international airlines.
Rochelle Turner, Head of Research for Which? Holiday, said: ‘Flying with a good-quality airline, such as Swiss or Air New Zealand, can really make a difference to your holiday. No one wants their trip abroad to start in a cramped or dirty plane.”
The top ten listings were:
Top 10 Short-haul Airlines
Swiss
Aer Lingus
Air Malta
KLM
Cyprus Airlines
Lufthansa
SAS Scandinavian
Flybe
TAP Air Portugal
BMI
Top 10 Long-Haul Airlines
Air New Zealand
Singapore
Emirates
Thai Airways
Cathay Pacific
Quantas
Virgin Atlantic
Delta
Air Canada
Continental
For the full results and category scores, see www.which.co.uk/airlinesurvey.