The best and worst short-haul airlines for 2024 named by Which? – Jet2 is number 1 for the third time and BA is among the worst

British Airways was once so confident in its reputation that it used “the world’s favorite airline” in its advertising campaigns.

But the British airline has been named one of the worst airlines for both long and short distances.

Consumer Champion Which? investigated the flying experiences of travelers in the past year and analyzed the results of more than 10,000 flights.

BA was once one of the country’s leading airlines, finishing in the bottom five for short-haul flights – below a number of budget airlines including easyJet, and in the bottom three for long-haul flights.

Punctuality and cancellations were a particular problem, with 3.3 percent of flights canceled at short notice, according to CAA data.

From 1983 to 2001, BA based its advertising on the claim that it was ‘the world’s favorite airline’. However, it has since fallen out of favor.

Aviation expert Alex McWhirter told The Mail: ‘BA has had to cut back on standards to compete with low-cost airlines. If it wants to get back to the good old days of inflight food and beverage service, it will have to raise prices, but customers won’t pay those prices.

‘The image that has been built up over the years has made people expect more from a national airline like BA, but today they are disappointed.’

The airline suffered a major IT outage in May 2017 and again in March 2022, forcing dozens of flights to be grounded.

At the time, BA chief executive Sean Doyle apologized to staff, saying: ‘Many of our customers are rightly fed up. I know you’ve had enough too, and I’m just as frustrated as you are with some of the things we’ve been dealing with.”

In the Which? In a survey, passengers rated airlines on seven criteria, including customer service, value for money, seating comfort and food and drink. A customer score was calculated based on overall satisfaction and likelihood of recommendation.

Wizz Air finished bottom, marking the second year in a row at the bottom of the survey, with customers complaining about delays and poor customer service.

Alarmingly, almost half (46 percent) of respondents flying with Wizz Air reported problems with their flights, with delays being a common issue.

According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), 63 percent of the airline’s flights were on time last year. About 2 percent of flights were delayed by more than three hours, more than most competitors.

The Hungarian airline received low star ratings across the board, scoring just one star out of a possible five for customer service.

One respondent reported that it was ‘impossible to communicate with the airline’ about the cancellation of their flight, while another said Wizz Air was ‘extremely unhelpful and unresponsive’ when they needed help.

Right behind Wizz Air was Ryanair.

The Irish airline scored just one star for seating comfort, food and drinks and customer service. In the latter category, respondents were particularly critical, with one passenger saying the airline ‘treats customers with contempt’.

Jet2, meanwhile, took first place among short-haul airlines for the third consecutive year. The airline topped the rankings with an impressive customer score of 81 percent and received a whopping five stars for its customer service.

Passengers reported a largely trouble-free flying experience, with 80 percent of respondents flying with Jet2 reporting no problems. Of those who experienced a delay during their flight, 84 percent reported that staff were helpful during the delay.

Jet2 also has one of the lowest last-minute cancellation rates of any airline in the study, with just 0.5 percent short-notice cancellations, according to CAA data.

In joint second place for short-haul flights, with a customer score of 74 percent, were Norwegian and Icelandair. The carriers have risen no less than four and five places respectively compared to last year.

The latest airline survey from Which? comes as fares hit record highs over the past year and many airlines posted significant profits due to the challenges of the pandemic.

According to the Office for National Statistics, average UK airfares last summer were a whopping £713 – and at these prices, customers should see excellent service across the board.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: ‘Air fares have soared in recent years, and the bare minimum passengers can expect in return for their hard-earned money is reliable service, with friendly, easily accessible customer support if they are let down.

‘While Jet2 continues to excel in this regard, our research shows that passengers on many airlines are unfortunately being left short-changed – with high last-minute cancellations, terrible customer service and sneaky baggage fees driving up the final price.’

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: ‘We do not consider the findings of this report to be representative or an accurate reflection of our performance today, which is among the strongest in Europe.

“We have been honest about our performance in summer 2022, which did not meet our standards.

‘We have invested more than £90 million to put this right and have made significant improvements that the results of this research do not acknowledge, but which are evident from both independent and our own data.’

A British Airways spokesperson said: ‘We always work hard to get our customers where they need to be on time.

“Like all airlines, over the past year we have had to deal with several factors beyond our control that have had a negative impact on our customers, such as adverse weather conditions and industrial action in air traffic control.

“We apologize to our customers for any disruptions they may have experienced.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘Ryanair has industry leading punctuality with average. punctuality of 87 percent by 2023, despite the fact that UK punctuality is seriously affected by the inefficient NATS and its incompetent CEO, whose ATC system has collapsed twice this year, disrupting thousands of flights and millions of passengers flying to/from the UK travel, have been delayed.’