Best and worst airlines: Jet2 ranked top short-haul choice

We run through the best and worst airlines whether you’re heading off on a short-haul or long-haul flight.

As any traveller knows, no two airlines are the same.

The experience of your flight can be dramatically different depending on your carrier, even if you are leaving and arriving at the same destinations.

Understanding the differences between these airlines is a crucial consideration before you book any trip.

While keeping costs low is obviously important, particularly at the moment, it can end up something of a false economy if the journey to and from your holiday ends up being utterly miserable.

So how do you determine the right airline for you? Each year the consumer champions at Which? carry out a big research project, polling its members on their experiences across more than 10,000 flights over the last couple of years.

That means grading the airline on things like cleanliness, customer service and the comfort of the seats.

Which? then brings those reviews together to deliver an overall score and ranking for the biggest airlines operating out of the UK, across both short‒ and long-haul flights.

The best short-haul airlines

If you’re heading off on short-haul, you're unlikely to go wrong with Jet2, according to the study.

It scored a whopping 81% overall and picked up full marks from travellers for the customer service on offer. It also got four out of five stars for areas like value for money, cleanliness, cabin environment and boarding.

More than two-thirds (68%) of flights were on time, while the airline stood out on last-minute cancellations, which occurred in just 0.5% of cases.

Which? noted that a whopping 80% of travellers said they had no problem with their trip, and even those that did saw the issue rectified swiftly. 

There was a tie in second place between Icelandair and Norwegian,  both of which scored 74%.

With Icelandair three-quarters of flights were on time 75%, with 1.5% of flights cancelled at the last minute, while the airline got full marks for its cleanliness.

It’s also worth noting how roomy Icelandair planes are, with a seat pitch of 32-33 inches, the largest around on short-haul airlines.

Here’s how the top five shape up:

The worst short-haul airlines

At the other end of the scale, Wizz Air managed an overall score of a paltry 44%.

Almost two-thirds of flights were on time, with 1.2% of flights cancelled with no notice, and it managed a dreadful one out of five for customer service and seat comfort, and didn’t score more than two out of five in a single category.

It also has the smallest seat pitches at 28 inches.

Shockingly, almost half (44%) of holidaymakers told Which? they had experienced an issue with Wizz Air, more than any other airline.

It was only marginally worse than Ryanair, which scored 47% overall.

Ryanair was given a painful one out of five for a range of categories, including customer service, seat comfort and food and drink, though it did manage a three-star rating for value for money.

Here are the five worst short-haul performers according to the Which? study:

The best long-haul airlines

If you are heading off on a longer flight, then Singapore Airlines should be at the top of your carriers of choice list.

It scored a superb 83% overall, avoiding last-minute cancellations entirely and picking up full marks for categories including cleanliness, boarding, and in-flight entertainment.

It only just out-scored Emirates, which took second place on 81%.

Emirates had virtually no last-minute cancellations and picked up full marks for both its choice of entertainment and the level of cleanliness in its flights.

Virgin finished in third, with scores of four out of five in virtually every category. Notably, not a single airline managed more than three stars for value for money.

The worst long-haul airlines

Lufthansa scored two out of five in a host of areas, leading to its bottom-placed finish.

These included boarding, seat comfort and food and drink, though it at least managed three stars for value for money.

Only slightly better is Air Canada, which scored 58% overall off the back of similar two-star scores on seat comfort, boarding and price.

Then there’s British Airways once more, sealing a dreadful double by making the bottom five for both short- and long-haul journeys.