Sit back and get ready for takeoff on a Which? approved flight for your next holiday. The consumer platform ranked a number of airlines through surveys of travellers.

The study analysed more than 10,000 flights, and data from customers including evaluations of value for money, seat comfort and food and drink. A customer score was calculated based on overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.

Jet2 impresses

Which? found Jet2 (JET2.L) had wowed customers over the last year, with an overall score of 81%. It took the top spot in short-haul flights and notched five stars for customer service.

Jet2 also has among the lowest rate of last-minute cancellations of any airlines in the survey, with just 0.5% cancelled at short notice, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

Its performance means customers feel it offers great value for money — scoring it four stars in that category. It also received four stars for the boarding experience, cabin environment and cabin cleanliness.

Close behind with tied customer scores of 74% are Icelandair and Norwegian.

Low-flyers

In terms of short-haul airlines, Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) came out bottom for the second year in a row, with a customer score of 44%. Delays were cited as a particularly common issue, Which? said.

According to CAA data, 63% of the airline's flights were on time in the last year (October 2022-September 2023). About 2% of its flights were delayed by over three hours — higher than most of its rivals.

“We do not consider the findings of this report to be representative or an accurate reflection of our performance today, which is among the strongest in Europe," a Wizz Air spokesperson said.

"We have been honest about our performance in summer 2022, which was not up to our standards. We have invested more than ￡90m to rectify this and have made significant improvements which the results of this survey fail to recognise, but are evident from independent data, as well as our own."

Among budget carriers, Ryanair (RYA.IR) also received a low ranking, with a customer score of 47%. The airline scored just two stars for the boarding experience, cabin cleanliness and cabin environment, and received three stars for value for money.

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"Ryanair has industry leading punctuality with average on-time performance of 87% in 2023, despite UK punctuality being severely impacted by the inefficient NATS [National Air Traffic Services] and its incompetent CEO, whose ATC [air traffic control] system has collapsed twice this year delaying thousands of flights and millions of passengers travelling to/from the UK," the company's spokesperson said.