Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has been named Europe’s worst airline for the second year in a row. According to The Mirror, citing a survey conducted among Britons by Which?, it was Wizz Air that received the most complaints from passengers due to flight delays and poor service.
According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, only 63% of the Hungarian airline’s flights arrived on time from October 2022 to September 2023. Around 2% of flights were delayed by more than three hours, which is more than most of its competitors. The airline received poor ratings across the board, including just one star out of five for customer service. One respondent said it was “impossible to contact the airline” about a flight cancellation, while another complained that Wizz Air was “extremely unhelpful and unresponsive” when they needed help.
Wizz Air, for its part, criticised the ranking, saying “the survey methodology is misleading and the results are not representative” and that not enough of the company’s customers were surveyed.
Which? surveyed travellers about their flights over the past year, analysing more than 10,000 flights in total. Passengers rated carriers on seven criteria, including customer service, value for money, seat comfort, food and drink. Customer ratings are calculated based on overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the company.
Following Wizz Air in the anti-rating is Ryanair, which also received unimpressive scores, receiving just one star for seat comfort, food and drink, and customer service. In the latter category, respondents were particularly critical: one passenger said the airline “treats customers with disdain,” while another said the airline simply “doesn’t serve its customers.” The airline also received just two stars for seat quality, cabin cleanliness and ecology, and three stars for value for money.
Iberia (Spain), Vueling (Spain) and British Airways (UK) round out the top five worst airlines. Meanwhile, UK-based Jet2 has taken the top spot among short-haul airlines for the third year running. The airline received a full five stars for customer service and also had one of the lowest last-minute cancellation rates of all the airlines surveyed.
