Best and worst airlines in 2023

The worst airline in our survey this year operated just 56% of its flights on time, cancelled nearly 2% of them within 24 hours of departure and generally treated many customers to an awful time. 

No, it’s not Ryanair, which has been rated bottom of our survey in recent years but fast growing Wizz Air. It gained just one star for seat comfort and cabin environment, and other ratings were not much better.  Quite simply, it is to be avoided at all costs. 

Our survey lets you compare your favourite airlines for everything from cabin cleanliness and boarding; to those crucial measures on long haul, food and drink and the inflight entertainment. But this year, with strikes and ongoing staff shortages, it pays to pay attention to those airlines that look after customers when something goes wrong. Almost one in three of you told us you had a problem with a flight over the past year, but the difference was how the airline dealt with that problem. 

That’s just part of the reason Jet2 has once again been rated the UK’s best short-haul airline. It too suffered some delays and cancellations, but 72% of survey respondents told us that when this did happen Jet2 were available to help. Compare that with just 40% for Ryanair. When booking this year, make sure you travel with an airline that will help you out if your flight is disrupted. 

On long haul, the story is simple. Fly anyone but British Airways and Lufthansa. See our table of the best and worst airlines below. 

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Best short-haul economy airlines

Why Jet2 is the best airline

Regularly rated the UK’s best airline by passengers in our survey, Jet2 has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Its five-star rating for customer service is exceptional for any airline, but especially one that offers budget fares. Passengers said the cabins were clean and well maintained and boarding was well organised. 

Crucially, given the disruption which has become common in air travel lately, Jet2 reliably looks after its customers. Its on time figure for flights was average given the disruption at airports and with air traffic control, but 72% of you told us that if delays did happen staff were available to help. At Ryanair the same figure was just 40%. Jet2 was one of only two airlines from more than 20 that was rated the full five stars for customer service. 

‘It’s the best airline by a country mile,’ was the conclusion of one reader.

Browse flights with Which? Recommended Provider Jet2

Why Wizz Air is the worst airline

Wizz Air has long been the only option for large parts of Eastern Europe, but has expanded rapidly to more destinations in recent years. Unfortunately, it’s achieved its growth by becoming a kind of mini-me Ryanair. Like its rival, it charges if you want to bring anything bigger than a bag you can squash under your seat. 

It was also accused of having a similar attitude when things go wrong, with almost half of respondents saying it had no staff available during delays. That’s a big problem when you consider just how often these happened. Over 2% of flights were more than three hours late – higher than most rivals, although it did tell us it has staff at sales desks to help customers. 

One star for seat comfort and the cabin environment suggests that passengers also had a bad experience when they finally boarded. At current levels of service and comfort, its new long-haul flights to the Middle East and Asia are frankly unthinkable.

Should I book with EasyJet?

Far more of you flew with easyJet than any other carrier. It’s long thrived on an unambitious reputation for being ‘better than Ryanair’, but it came close to losing even that shabby crown in the travel chaos of spring 2022. Nearly three times as many of its flights were cancelled at the last minute as with Ryanair and Jet2. And when there were long delays, half of you said that there were no easyJet staff around to help. 

The one star for boarding was echoed by several people who described the process as ‘chaotic’. One passenger said: ‘They had us standing on the air bridge for an hour on the way out.’ Seat comfort also received a one-star rating.

Should I book with British Airways?

A thoroughly mediocre airline for both short-haul and long-haul is the summary of passengers who flew with British Airways. 

On short haul it earned the same three-star rating for customer service as Ryanair, while seat comfort and the boarding process gained just two stars. It received slightly higher ratings on long-haul, including four stars for customer service, but it was still behind almost every other rival. Two stars for food and drink and in-flight entertainment is very disappointing for long flights. 

Many of you told us you longed for the faintly mythical period when British Airway was actually good. ‘There is nothing premium about BA any more,’ one person told us. Another said the airline couldn’t decide whether it wants to be a budget or luxury carrier. 

The worst problem, though, was the thousands of cancellations last year. Far too many of those – 2.3% – were within 24 hours of departure. BA has many improvements to make but ensuring that the flights on sale actually go ahead would be a very good start

Should I book with Ryanair?

Ryanair regularly sits at the bottom of our table, and only escapes last place this year through the horrendous experience offered by Wizz Air. One star ratings for the cabin, seat comfort and boarding tell you everything you need to know about what to expect when flying with Europe’s largest budget airline. 

Its three stars for customer service is notably better than Wizz, and the same as better regarded rivals like British Airways and EasyJet; although less than half of passengers told us they could find a member of Ryanair staff when they faced delays. 

Ryanair boasts about rock-bottom fares, which may be true, but its three-star rating for value for money gives a more accurate picture of the total price. Add in bags, or seats or anything and the cost quickly shoots up. Do your maths first before booking to see if better rivals, like Jet2, which includes a much larger free luggage allowance are cheaper for your trip. 

Best long-haul economy airlines

Why Emirates is the best long-haul airline

The standard pre-departure command to ‘relax and enjoy your flight’ can often seem bitterly ironic. But Emirates is one of the few exceptions. Its string of five-star ratings for cabin environment, cleanliness, entertainment and customer service speak of a very different experience to that of many of its rivals. ‘Even standard class feels luxurious,’ you told us, ‘and staff were so helpful’. 

If you flew with Emirates, you were unlikely to have a last-minute cancellation, and your plane was very likely to arrive on time. Nice, polite staff (‘unlike other airlines I’ve been on’) was the cherry on top. Once again, Asian and Middle-Eastern carriers often put their European or US rivals to shame. 

Should I book with Virgin Atlantic?

During the pandemic, Virgin’s treatment of its customers was shocking. In 2021, our refund survey found that it had only paid back 3% of passengers within the legal timeframe, and just 13% were happy with its customer service. This from an airline that had prided itself on looking after passengers. 

Happily, now its back in the skies, Virgin has recovered some of its lustre. Customer service gets five stars again, as does cabin environment and cleanliness. Last-minute cancellations were high at 1.5%, but its punctuality was among the best at 76%. ‘Everything about our flight was perfect,’ one person told us, ‘Virgin always pays attention to your needs.’ That’s true in normal times – let’s hope it remains so for the years ahead.

What makes an airline a Which? Recommended Provider?

In October 2022, we asked 8,046 adults (members of Which? Connect and the general public) about their experiences of flying in the past two years. Only airlines rated by at least 30 respondents are included.

Which? Recommended Providers are those that achieved a customer score of at least 70%, but that's not all. Airlines with above average cancellations, like Virgin Atlantic, were not eligible to be WRPs. Emirates, Ethihad, Finnair and Turkish Airlines were not eligible to be WRPs because of their punitive no show clause - they may cancel your return flight when you miss the outbound flight through no fault of your own. Swiss Air and Aurigny were not eligible because they were only rated three stars for value for money