The air travel experience is different from one airline to another. Passengers rate their experiences based on several criteria, including boarding, cabin environment and seat comfort.
To determine the opinion of passengers on certain airlines, including Wizz Air, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2 and British Airways and other well known airlines, the British consumer association Which? conducted a survey. More than 8.000 UK passengers have shared their opinion.
Wizz Air named ‘worst short-haul airline’
According to the results of the survey, quoted Wednesday, February 22 by the newspaper The Guardian, the Hungarian low-cost carrier, Wizz Air, is designated as the worst short-haul airline. Respondents were asked to give stars on several evaluation criteria.
Passengers surveyed gave the Hungary-based carrier one out of five stars for boarding experience, cabin environment and seat comfort. About the seats, it turned out that the distance between two rows in standard economy class is just 70 cm, which is 5 cm less than its rival Ryanair.
Additionally, survey participants gave Wizz Air two stars in other categories, including value for money and cleanliness. The overall customer score of 48% obtained by Wizz Air put it at the bottom of the ranking, below Ryanair (52%), Eurowings (53%) and British Airways (56%).
At the top of the ranking, the British low-cost Jet2.com obtained the best score (80%) in the Which? research, ahead of Turkish Airlines (78%).
Wizz Air and British Airways deliver their versions of the facts
The travel editor of the Which? research, Rory Boland, said travelers should avoid Wizz Air altogether. “If other carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air,” he said.
“Its poor record on customer care means you’re likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled,” he said. On the other hand, he believes that other companies like Jet2.com “have distinguished themselves by providing travelers with excellent and reliable customer service”.
In response to the survey results, a Wizz Air spokesperson said his company is doing everything possible to ensure that passengers reach their destination on time and with minimal delay. “Every aircraft is cleaned after each flight and deep cleaned every night.”
British Airways believes, through a spokesperson, that this small survey, has been conducted during one of the most difficult times in global aviation, ”accurately represents the views of the tens of millions of customers who’ve chosen to fly with us over the same period.”