Best airlines for 2026

Could this be the year we get rid of the phrase ‘low-cost airline’?

The cost of flying is no longer low with any of the carriers that are keenest on the term, if you want to take much more than a handbag with you.

We checked hundreds of cabin bag prices last year and, to take a cabin bag on a return flight (rather than an underseat bag), was typically around £41 on Ryanair, £58 with Wizz and £60 with easyJet. 

Five of the six top-rated short-haul airlines in our survey allow you to take the same cabin bag onboard for free - meaning it can be as cheap to fly with them if you plan to fly with a cabin bag. 

These airlines are all also overwhelmingly likely to seat you with your travel companion without having to pay - unlike Ryanair or Wizz.

Choosing a better-rated airline with decent customer service also means you shouldn’t be left in the lurch if anything goes wrong.

See our table of the best and worst airlines - including statistics on how likely they are to get you to your destination on time.

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The best short-haul economy airline

The best long-haul economy airlines

Short-haul economy airlines compared

Long-haul economy airlines compared

Full short-haul airline reviews

Why Jet2 is the best airline for short-haul

Our only Which? Recommended Provider for short-haul proved itself to be the big winner for reliability. Jet2 cancelled far fewer flights at the last minute than most rivals and clinched four stars for customer service, value for money and the booking process (simplified because there’s no need to add cabin bags). 

‘Compared with other budget airlines, Jet2 gives you a generous luggage allowance, which makes such a difference,’ said one person. More than three quarters of passengers said that there were no problems with their flights, compared with just 63% for Ryanair. When delays did happen, Jet2 was also much more likely to have people around to explain what was going on. In the past 10 years, Jet2 has expanded hugely, with more bases and routes, but it’s as good as ever.

Browse flights with Which? Recommended Provider Jet2

Why Ryanair is the worst airline for short-haul

‘You aren’t treated like a customer but as an inconvenience, complained one Ryanair passenger. ‘And the seats are uncomfortable compared to easyJet.’ They added: ‘Ryanair’s pricing is no longer competitive.’ 

That last comment should worry an airline that has, over the past decade, put up the price of taking a bag, sitting next to companions and just about everything else. 

The worst thing with Ryanair is how it treats passengers when something goes wrong. This is important because well over a third of its customers in our survey said something did go wrong. Despite Ryanair’s reasonable punctuality (see table above), the biggest complaint was delays, perhaps because it’s less likely to have staff around to help during delays than rivals such as Jet2: 67% of Ryanair passengers said there were staff available at least some of the time during delays; for Jet2, that was 92%. Fly with anyone else, if you can.

Expert view

 

I would fly Ryanair, but not often.

If I am flying solo on a short trip and only need a small backpack, I don’t mind suffering a Ryanair or Wizz Air flight, but for anything else, I book with someone, anyone else.

It is not just the uncomfortable seats and dirty planes, but the stress of both booking and boarding. Trying to work out what combination of bundles and boxes I need to tick to bring a basic cabin bag, and the knowledge that if a delay, cancellation or any disruption does happen, the customer service will be abysmal.

But it’s also because, just like the passengers in our survey, I just don’t find Ryanair and Wizz Air to be very good value if you want anything more than a seat to sit in. Add in a bag and a seat next to your partner or kids, and you’ll often find there are cheaper fares with better airlines.  

Rory Boland - Editor of Which? Travel

Should I book with easyJet?

On many routes, easyJet is Ryanair’s main competitor. In recent years, it’s copied its big rival, with cabin bag fees and ruthless (some might say excessive) enforcement of baggage size rules at the gate. It’s done better in our survey, though, with a higher customer score (easyJet, 67%; Ryanair, 55%) and three stars for the booking procedure, compared with just two stars for Ryanair. 

Elsewhere, a string of two-star ratings – for customer service, seat comfort and cabin environment – suggests it’s an airline that’s usually doing just about enough, without impressing. One plus point is that, along with most airlines, it improved its punctuality and cancelled fewer flights at the last minute than last year. That score of 0.74% for flights cancelled less than 24 hours before departure still isn’t great (around 1,450 flights scrapped at the last minute), but it’s better than the two previous years.

Should I book with British Airways?

As well as getting a decent customer score, BA also did well (four stars) for customer service. This must be helped by the fact that, unlike easyJet or Ryanair, British Airways doesn’t force thousands of its own customers to pay a fine at the gate for fractionally oversized bags. 

‘You pay a bit more,’ said one passenger, ‘but you know you will get quality service.’ 

With BA, cabin bags are included in the price, meaning that it can ultimately be cheaper than its supposedly low-cost rivals. Including bags in the headline price – and seating people together without making them pay – also means that the booking process is simpler. You won’t need to get your calculator out when deciding what kind of luggage to add. BA has also seen a big improvement in punctuality, scoring 74% (up from 65% in the equivalent period last year).

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Full long-haul airline reviews

Should I book with Singapore Airlines?

On a short-haul flight, you might think you can put up with poor service if you’ve got a really cheap fare. But if you’re flying for 13 hours to Asia, you probably want to be on a decent carrier, such as Singapore Airlines. 

Customer service is a big part of it. ‘Nothing is ever a problem for staff when I ask,’ was one comment. Food was highly praised, too. Passengers loved its comfortable cabins, smooth booking process and boarding. Despite flights being pricey, it got four stars for value for money. We have just one complaint about Singapore – and most other long-haul airlines: its no-show clause. Miss your outbound flight, even if it’s not your fault, and it’ll cancel your return ticket. You have to pay a fee to avoid losing the whole cost of the flight.

Should I book with Emirates?

Yes. A superior no-show clause is why we recommend Emirates for eastbound flights. It matches Singapore for its smooth booking process, seat comfort, food and value for money. Its customer service is good, too. ‘The service was exceptional,’ one person told us, adding that ‘it felt like I was flying first class even though I booked economy.’ 

If you’re tall, you might appreciate that – according to seat pitch data from analysts Aerolopa – you get an extra inch of legroom on Emirates, compared with many other airlines. Its punctuality was also excellent, and Emirates has the edge over Singapore on last-minute cancellations: fewer than one in 200 flights were cancelled less than 24 hours before departure.

Should I book with Virgin Atlantic?

Yes. Virgin was one of only two (along with Singapore) to get the full five stars for customer service. ‘The staff just seem nice,’ said one flier. ‘There’s a better atmosphere on board when you have staff who actually seem like they care.’ 

Virgin’s result is notable when you see how its transatlantic competitors – Aer Lingus, American, Delta and United – sit at the bottom of our table. It beats all of them for food and drink, cabin environment and value for money. Another reason to fly with Virgin (or indeed BA) is that you get stronger consumer protections, even when flying from the US. An American airline doesn’t have to compensate you for long delays or cancellations when flying to the UK – a British or European one does.

Should I book with Qatar?

Another carrier that we might have recommended if it weren’t for its no-show clause (see Singapore Airlines). Qatar gets four stars across the board and was less likely to cancel flights at the last minute than most other airlines last year. ‘My seat was very comfy, the staff were lovely, and the food was great,’ was one comment. 

Many mentioned spacious and comfortable seats. Aerolopa seat data suggests you may get an inch or so more legroom with Qatar than on some other airlines. Its modern fleet includes many seats with a 32-inch pitch, rather than the standard 31-inch. Whether you fly with Emirates or Qatar might depend on where you want to have a layover. Qatar lets you book packages through the airline, with four-star hotels costing from $14 (around £10).

What makes an airline a Which? Recommended Provider?

Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs) are those that achieved the best customer scores, but that's not all. Airlines with above-average numbers of cancellations are not eligible to be WRPs. We also keep an eye on customer service, value for money and – as mentioned above – whether or not airlines have a ‘no-show’ clause.

Singapore and Qatar missed out on being WRPs because of their ‘no-show’ clause. Virgin Atlantic and Emirates both have 'no-show' clauses, but they won’t automatically cancel your return flight if you miss the outbound. As long as you let them know you missed your flight, you can still take the return leg.