British Airways finishes bottom of Which? long-haul flights survey - and rivals Ryanair for poor customer service

British Airways has finished at the bottom of the annual Which? airlines survey - coming joint last for long-haul flights - as research from the consumer champion shows the UK’s flag carrier has also dropped below Ryanair for customer service when travellers need to get in contact. 

For its annual airline satisfaction survey, the consumer champion surveyed travellers’ experiences of flying in the last year, analysing results for over 9,000 flights in total. British Airways (BA) finished joint-bottom out of 19 airlines (with Air Canada) for long haul flights and 12th out of 16 carriers for short-haul travel. Ryanair finished bottom of the short-haul table.

The research shows a gulf in standards between the best and worst performing airlines. Jet2 was the best-performing short-haul airline with an impressive customer score of 80 percent - while the bottom five all scored under 60 per cent. Singapore Airlines was top for long-haul flights (81%) - while BA and Air Canada languished on 62 per cent.

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

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. 

While BA 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. 

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.

BA customer Joanne Anderson described BA as “dreadful” over an ongoing battle for a refund, which stretched for more than two months. The 76-year-old said the airline’s customer service team had told her on numerous occasions that she could expect to receive a refund within 7-10 days, but it took nine weeks to arrive.

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

At the top of the long-haul survey, Singapore Airlines scored five out of five stars in most categories including customer service, ease of boarding, cleanliness and cabin environment, while Etihad was second on 78 per cent. 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 per cent and got five stars for booking process and cabin environment.

For short haul airlines, Jet2 took first place for the fourth consecutive year and is also marking its 10th year as a Which? Recommended Provider. The airline received high marks for customer service, booking, cleanliness and value for money. 

Jet2 also had among the lowest rate of last-minute cancellations of any airline in the survey, with just 0.1 per cent cancelled at short notice, according to CAA data.

Ryanair came bottom of the short haul rankings with a paltry score of 49 per cent. 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 of Ryanair passengers (47%) that the company did nothing at all during delays, when asked whether airline staff provided explanations, information about their rights or provided food and drink vouchers. 

One Ryanair passenger said: "You think you are getting a fairly cheap flight only to find that you have to pay extra for everything. I would rather the price was higher but not have to pay to take on a cabin bag. The plane was not clean and the seats were very uncomfortable.”

Wizz Air was just ahead of Ryanair with a customer score of 51 per cent and a meagre two stars across all categories in Which?’s survey. Almost half (47%) of passengers lamenting 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.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, 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.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Case study

Joanne Anderson, from Belfast, said she had battled to get a refund for a cancelled flight from BA for more than two months.

The 76-year-old had booked a return flight from Belfast to Exeter to visit her daughter and two grandchildren - but her flight to England on 28 November was cancelled due to bad weather. The flight was booked with BA but operated by Aer Lingus.

She 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 30 January, 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.”

Right of Replies

Which? asked British Airways, Ryanair and WizzAir for a right of reply as they came bottom of the tables.

A spokesperson for British Airways said: 

“This research from Which? is entirely at odds with comments from the hundreds of thousands of customers who we know do travel with British Airways and then tell us about their experience.

“Their feedback tells us customers are seeing the benefit of our £7bn investment programme, with operational performance improving by 18 per cent 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.

 “This is also reflected in a recent independent study from Newsweek, which surveyed 17,000 people who voted us their Most Trusted Airline Brand.

“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. We have continued to prioritise our customer experience and have invested heavily over the past 12 months to make it easier for customers to access help and support. This year, we will be making further improvements to ensure passengers have a smooth and enjoyable travel experience while ensuring we have the best solutions in place in  the event of an unexpected disruption.”

*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.

Research

• In November - December 2024, 7,828 Which? members and other travellers told Which? about 9,325 flights last year. 
• Air Canada came joint bottom with British Airways and received a score of 62 per cent.
• Airline delay and cancellation data is taken from Civil Aviation Authority data (October 2023 to September 2024)
• Which?’s Recommended Providers are Jet2 for short haul and Emirates for long haul flights.
• Separate research by Which? looked in depth at satisfaction with airlines’ customer service. The research also revealed a huge disparity in customer service standards at different airlines. While Jet2 and Emirates performed very well, Wizz Air and Ryanair customers were least satisfied with the variety of contact options they provided. (this link will go live on 26th February - a copy of the embargoed research is available upon request)WizzAir add ons can quadruple the cost of flight 
• WizzAir add ons can quadruple the cost of flight 

Table of results

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

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