Which? has urged travellers to avoid Wizz Air if possible, as the budget carrier finished at bottom of the consumer watchdog’s annual survey of short-haul airlines.
The survey quizzed more than 8,000 travellers about their experiences of flying in the past two years, with passengers rating airlines on criteria such as customer service, value for money and boarding experience.
Wizz Air performed the worst with a score of 48%. It got one star out of five for boarding experience, as well as for cabin environment and seat comfort – and achieved no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including value for money and customer service.
Ryanair (52%), Eurowings (53%), British Airways (56%) and Lufthansa (57%) finished just ahead of Wizz Air.
Which? said Ryanair received a clutch of one and two star scores, including just one star for boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment – but was awarded three stars for customer service and the value for money.
“The airline was also notably more reliable than the overall survey average, with just 0.5% of its flights cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice – something it had in common with some of the highest-rated airlines,” added Which?
It said BA was “widely panned” by respondents, scoring only two stars for boarding, seat comfort and value for money, and no more than three stars in any other category.
Jet2.com topped the short-haul airline table, with a customer score of 80%, and once again achieved Which? Recommended Provider status.
It was awarded five stars for customer service; four stars for value for money, cabin cleanliness, and boarding; and three stars only on seat comfort and its food and drink offering.
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Norwegian Air was the only other carrier to achieve the Which? Recommended Provider badge in short-haul, as high-scoring Turkish Airlines and Finnair were rejected for having terms and conditions which allow them to cancel passengers’ return journeys if they miss their outbound flight through no fault of their own.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “Travellers have had a torrid time in recent years, with last-minute delays and cancellations an unacceptably common occurrence.
“While airlines like Jet2.com have distinguished themselves by offering flyers excellent customer care and a reliable service, too many of their competitors continually fail to measure up.”
“If alternative carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air, as its poor record on customer care means you’re likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled.”
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “At Wizz Air, we do everything possible to ensure that passengers reach their destination on time and with minimal delay. We invest heavily into time performance, which is key to our ultra-efficient business model.
“A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022.
“Wizz Air operates a fleet of brand new, state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft, with an average age of 4.6 years, which offer passengers comfort, space, and modern interiors.
“The A321neo features the widest single-aisle cabin configuration with 239 18-inch-wide seats.”
A BA spokesperson said: “We don’t feel this small survey, conducted during one of the most challenging periods in global aviation, accurately represents the views of the tens of millions of customers who’ve chosen to fly with us over the same period.
“While we don’t claim to get everything right every time, we continue to be recognised for the service we offer, recently winning Best Airline 2022 at the News UK Travel Awards and nine Business Traveller Awards over the past two years.
“Our customers tell us they appreciate being able to choose from a range of cabins, flying to and from central airports at convenient times of the day, plus our investment in new aircraft, new seating, Wi-Fi, new menus, the complimentary snacks and water we offer in our short-haul economy cabin, and the most generous hand baggage allowance of any UK airline.”
A Tui spokesperson commented:“This Which? survey once again only speaks to less than 1% of our customers, and therefore cannot be used as an accurate reflection.
“The vast majority of our flights operate as planned, but unfortunately on rare occasions, delays can occur due to a number of factors which are usually outside our control.”
Ryanair did not reply to a request for comment.