Budget airlines: which is the best – and what about the worst?
So which budget airlines offer the best customer experience, and which ones will have you muttering “never again” as you stagger out of the airport?
There is of course no one-size-fits-all answer – there are so many variables at play, from cost, customer service and the number of cancellations to legroom and luggage policy. Each airline has its own (often byzantine) rules, paid-for extras and small-print fees to navigate.
However, to try to come up with some answers, Guardian Money took a deep dive into the recent findings of a detailed survey of short-haul airlines by the consumer body Which?, and also asked travel experts for their views.
The consumer organisation quizzed more than 8,000 travellers about their experiences of flying in the past two years, with passengers invited to rate their carriers across a range of criteria.
Jet2.com – which flies from 10 UK airports to more than 65 destinations – came out top with an overall customer score of 80%. It was one of only two short-haul carriers – the other being the airline Norwegian, which scored 74% – to achieve “recommended provider” status.
Propping up the bottom of the table were Wizz Air (customer score: 48%) and Ryanair (52%). British Airways was fourth from bottom with 56%, while easyJet and Tui Airways scored 59%.
We asked four people who really know about this stuff for their views, including on which airline they think offers the best experience.
Paul Charles, the chief executive of the travel consultancy the PC Agency and a former director at Virgin Atlantic, told us: “I still think easyJet have one of the best products available for the price. It often gives the feel of being on a full-service airline but obviously without the frills … The crew are well trained at
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