The best and worst airlines to travel with

Find out which airlines came top and which came bottom for long- and short-haul flights in 2013.

Which? has revealed the winners and losers of its annual long- and short-haul airline survey.

In October the consumer group asked its members to share experiences about a carrier they had flown with in the past year.

Airlines were rated out of five for hand luggage allowance, hold luggage allowance, boarding process, seat comfort, legroom, food and drink, flight punctuality and value for money.

In total 22 short-haul airlines and 24 long-haul air lines were analysed using over 12,000 member experiences.

So what were the best and worst airlines to travel with in 2013?

Best and worst short-haul airlines

Source: Which?

Guernsey-based Aurigny Air Services was named top for short-haul services with an impressive overall score of 87%.

The little known carrier has been around since 1968 and flies passengers from Bristol, Manchester, East Midlands, Southampton, London Gatwick and Stansted to the Channel Islands; Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney.

Aurigny soared to the top of the table after bagging four stars for boarding process, legroom and flight punctuality. When flying with the carrier passengers get perks like a 20kg hold luggage allowance included in the ticket price and complimentary soft drinks.

However Which? has refrained from awarding a Which? Recommended Provider badge of honour as the airline charges £2 per person per one-way flight. This  conflicts with the consumer group’s campaign against excessive surcharges. But Aurigny plans to reduce this charge in 2014.

Last year’s winner Swiss International Airlines came second with a score of 82%, followed by Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (79%) and Turkish Airlines (75%).

It probably won’t come as a surprise that bottom of the short-haul leagues was budget carrier Ryanair, with a dismal score of 32%.

The Dublin-based airline gained only a one-star rating for luggage allowances, boarding process, legroom and the quality of food and drink.

However, Ryanair could turn it all around in time for next year’s survey. The airline is making moves to reform its profit-hungry and bad customer service image with a raft of changes including a switch to allocated seating and a reduction in baggage fees. These will come into force from January next year. Read more in: Ryanair halves excess baggage fees.

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Best and worst long-haul airlines

Source: Which?

If you’re considering booking a holiday to some far-off destination it may be worth checking if Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines or Emirates fly there.

Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines came joint first for their long-haul flights with an overall customer score of 87% and Emirates came close behind with a score of 83%.

Both Air New Zealand and Singapore Airliness scored five out five for in-flight entertainment, food and drink, flight punctuality and value for money.

At the bottom of the table is American Airlines (40%), Thomas Cook Airlines (37%) and Iberia (28%).

All three failed to achieve anything above two stars for legroom, seat comfort, food and drink provided on the flight and in-flight entertainment.

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Best airlines by destination

The annual survey by Which? also got members to rate airlines by destination.

Budget airlines did well in this category as easyJet was rated best for flights to Tenerife while Jet2.com came first for its services to Mallorca.

British Airways racked up a fair few nods too. The airline came first for travel to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic came top for its flights to America and Singapore Airlines achieved another top ranking for its flights to Australia.

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