Survey reveals world’s ‘worst’ airline revealed

The world’s worst airlines have been revealed, with a budget airline taking home the title, while an Aussie airline makes the ‘best’ list.

A European carrier has been named the worst airline in the world for the second year in a row, as voted by passengers.

A survey conducted by UK consumer advocate Which? assessed more than 10,000 flights mainly used by British travellers, with Wizz Air, a Hungarian-based budget airline ranked last in the ‘best short haul’ category.

British Airways was also surprisingly ranked among the ‘worst’ for both long and short haul travel at 15th and 14th, respectively — out of 17 carriers and 2 carriers.

The survey, which was based on travellers’ experiences of flying in the past year, asked UK passengers to rate airlines on customer service, value for money, seat comfort, and food and drink.

The Which? survey analysed the airlines most commonly used by UK travellers with Hungarian Wizz Air nabbing the ‘worst’ short haul title for the second year in a row.

The budget Hungarian carrier was criticised for delays and poor customer service, with one customer calling the airline “impossible” to communicate with when they sought assistance.

It got one out of five stars for customer service and received no more than two stars in any of the other categories, including value for money.

“It’s the lowest-scoring airline, with one star for customer service and seat comfort and a customer score lower than Ryanair,” the report states.

British Airways ranked low in both short and long haul categories.

UK budget carrier Jet2.com ranked first in the ‘best short-haul economy airlines’ category.

“Incredibly, 44 per cent of passengers reported having some kind of problem – more than any other airline in our survey. High prices for luggage also mean that it’s not even that cheap for anybody taking a small case on board, which is surely most holiday-makers.”

British budget airline Jet2.com ranked first in the ‘short-haul best’ category, followed by Icelandair, Norwegian, Turkish Airlines (which will launch in Australia next month) and Longanair in fifth place.

Qantas ranks fifth in ‘best long-haul’ category

Qantas ranked fifth in the ‘best long-haul economy airlines’ category. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the only Aussie carrier to make the list was Qantas and it ranked fifth in the ‘best long-haul economy airlines’ category. It scored three stars for customer service and boarding, four stars for seat comfort, food and drink, in-flight entertainment, cleanliness and value for money.

However Qantas did score the least in the ‘on time’ category at 43 per cent.

Singapore Airlines topped the list in that category, followed by Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and Qatar Airways.

Singapore Airlines came first in the same category as the ‘best’ long haul economy airline.

It was followed by Emirates.

“The two airlines at the top of our long-haul table stand out for spotless planes, excellent entertainment systems and friendly service. Emirates, however, has far more routes from the UK, including from Birmingham, Newcastle and Manchester,” the report states.

“Emirates is punctual too, with three quarters of flights arriving less than 15 minutes late. The only smirch on its reputation – and of most other luxury, long-haul carriers – is its ‘no-show’ clause.

British Airways didn’t have the best run with the UK-based carrier ranking low in each category.

“British Airways has had to cut back on standards in order to compete with low-cost carriers,” Aviation expert Alex McWhirter told The Daily Mail.

“If it wants to go back to the good old days of food and drink service on board it will have to increase prices but customers won’t pay those prices.

“Because of the image cultivated over the years, people expect more from a national carrier like BA, but these days they’re disappointed.”

British Airways is only separated in the short-haul table from the worst carriers by its sister airlines Vueling and Iberia.

“In long-haul it gets just two stars for value and another low customer score of 59 per cant,” the report explains.

“Worse, 3.3 per cent of flights were cancelled less than 24 hours before departure. Given how big BA is, that means tens of thousands of people had their plans torn up at the last minute. “At least it now offers competitive prices on some short-haul routes. The fact that you don’t need to pay for a seat to sit with your travel companions – and cabin luggage is free – means it can be cheaper than some of its supposedly budget rivals.”