Holidaymakers rate British Airways as one of the UK’s worst airlines

Once self-proclaimed ‘the world’s favourite airline’, British Airways has found itself grounded alongside Ryanair and American Airlines, as one of the UK’s worst airlines, according to the Which? Travel annual airline survey.

Asking more than 6,500 holidaymakers to rate their experiences of flights taken over the course of 12 months, passengers were asked to describe their experiences of customer service, boarding and cabin environment.

Holidaymakers panned BA for the quality of its food and drink, the comfort of its seats and value for money for its short-haul and long haul services with both only managing a 55 per cent customer score overall.

This left the once-loved British Airways third from the bottom of the short-haul table and second from the bottom in the long-haul.

These results are a long way off the 2015 findings which awarded the British flag carrier the best short-haul airline.

Subsequent IT failures, strikes and mass cancellations have contributed to the descent of the airline in customers’ estimations.

Some passengers had such bad experiences they told Which? they would never fly British Airways again with one going as far as to say “BA is, without doubt, the worst airline we’ve ever used.”

Virgin Atlantic (72%) is a consistent high scorer in the long haul category and unlike BA, has kept standards high while seeing off the budget upstarts like Wow and Primera – both now bust.

Five worst long-haul airlines

Those surveyed also told Which? that it was the best option when flying to the US and one went as far as to say “British Airways need to learn from Virgin”.

Ryanair was once again voted the worst short-haul airline, a dubious accolade which it has flirted with for the last four consecutive years, with a dismal score of only 44 per cent.

Many passengers who had flown with the budget carrier pointed out the endless add-ons and the finicky luggage requirements with one saying customers were treated like ‘cash cows’ and another carried on the analogy by saying the airline had a ‘cattle class mentality’.

Customers gave the airline the lowest possible score of one star out of a possible five in all categories including boarding, customer service and cabin experience, apart from value for money where it managed a two-star rating.

Five worst short-haul airlines

American Airways meanwhile landed with a bump at the bottom on the long haul table with another miserable customer score of 48 per cent. While the boarding process and the cabin cleanliness of the airline managed three stars, everything else was rated by passengers as below average. One passenger summed this up by saying: “the cabin was scruffy, the staff rude, the food awful.”

Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said:“Year after year the same culprits continue to sink to new lows, yet for many of us, there is a choice. You don’t have to keep booking with an airline that has let you down – or one that you loved for years but has slipped in quality.

“If you get a choice and you are flying short-haul, choose Jet2. It is better quality than BA and often has better fares than Ryanair. If you are heading to the states, Virgin Atlantic beats BA hands-down.”