The best and worst airlines for 2025 have been revealed

Jessica Hamilton

Published February 26, 2025 6:00am

A passenger plane flying over a blue sky and clouds. — Which? has revealed the best and worst airlines for 2025 (Picture: Getty Images)

British Airways has been named one of the worst long-haul airlines, but Ryanair takes the title in the 2025 Which? report.

As part of its annual satisfaction survey, the consumer group surveyed over 7,000 of its members about their experiences of flying last year across more than 9,000 flights.

Passengers were asked to rate their experiences across several categories, including customer service, food and drink and value for money – an overall customer score was then calculated.

BA finished joint bottom in the ranking of long-haul airlines alongside Air Canada, with an overall customer score of 62%. The airline didn’t fare much better in the short-haul ranking, placing 12 out of 16, with an overall score of 57%.

It’s quite a fall from grace. BA once called itself ‘the world’s favourite airline’, a slogan it used from 1983 to 2001.

Nevertheless, BA still ranked higher than Ryanair, the worst-performing short-haul airline with an overall customer satisfaction score of 49%.

Which? best and worst short-haul airlines

At the top of the short-haul table was Jet2, for the fourth year in a row. The Which? Recommended Provider received a customer score of 80% and scored five out of five stars for customer service, booking, cleanliness and value for money.

The airline also had the lowest rate of last-minute cancellations in the survey.

Jet2holidays aeriplane departing in blue sky for a flight to a tourist destination — Which? Recommended Provider Jet 2 ranked the top short-haul airline (Picture: Getty Images)

Logan Air ranked second with a customer score of 72%. The Scottish regional airline scored top marks for customer service, and four stars for booking process and boarding. While Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) followed closely behind in third with 71%.

Meanwhile, low-cost airline EasyJet placed towards the middle of the table in 10th place with a customer score of 61%, followed by Vueling (11th, 60%) and British Airways (12th, 57%).

At the bottom end of the table, Wizz Air, the worst-performing short-haul airline for 2024, ranked just ahead of Ryanair with a customer score of 51%.

The airline scored two stars across all categories in Which?’s survey, with 49% lamenting the booking process and the ‘endless choices’ of add-ons.

A Wizz Air passenger said they felt ‘fleeced’ when they saw how much it cost to check in a suitcase, the consumer group said.

Ryanair only managed a maximum of two stars in any category, receiving just one star for food and drink, seat comfort, and boarding.

One Ryanair passenger told Which?: ‘You think you are getting a fairly cheap flight only to find that you have to pay extra for everything. I would rather the price was higher but not have to pay to take on a cabin bag. The plane was not clean and the seats were very uncomfortable.’

Passengers board a Ryanair plane at sunset. — Ryanair received an overall customer score of 49% (Picture: Getty Images)

Both Ryanair and Wizz Air disagreed with the findings.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘Ryanair this year will carry 200 million passengers. Not one of our 200 million passengers wishes to pay “higher prices” as Which? falsely claim.’

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: ‘Which? is yet again misleading the public with a survey that has a staggeringly small sample size. Wizz Air flew over 12 million passengers in the UK over the last year and Which? only surveyed 109 Wizz Air customers – less than 0.001% of our customer base.

‘It is therefore not a fair or accurate representation of Wizz Air’s industry-leading operational performance and significantly improved customer service.’

Best and worst short-haul airlines, according to Which?

Jet 2 – 80% (overall customer score)

Logan Air – 72%

SAS – 71%

Norwegian – 69%

Aegean Airlines – 67%

KLM – 67%

Aer Lingus – 66%

TUI Airways – 64%

Turkish Airlines – 63%

EasyJet – 61%

Vueling Airlines – 60%

British Airways – 57%

TAP Portugal – 57%

Lufthansa – 55%

Wizz Air – 51%

Ryanair – 49%

Which? best and worst long-haul airlines

Singapore Airlines was the top-ranked long-haul airline for 2025, with an ‘impressive’ customer score of 80%. The airline scored five out of five stars in most categories including customer service, ease of boarding, cleanliness and cabin environment.

Etihad took the runner-up spot with a score of 78%, achieving full marks for its booking process.

However, both airlines missed out on Which? Recommended Provided status due to ‘no-show’ clauses, which means they can cancel a passenger’s return flight if they miss the first leg of their journey.

Which? Recommended Provider Emirates ranked third with a customer score of 77%. It gained five stars for the booking process and cabin environment.

Airplane Boeing 777 of Singapore Airlines flying through clouds sky prepare to landing — Singapore Airlines received an ‘impressive’ customer score of 80% (Picture: Getty Images)

Last-place BA and Air Canada scored a ‘measly’ two stars across several categories, including value for money, seat comfort and cabin environment.

One Which? survey respondent complained that the airline cancelled their flight by text in the early hours of the morning, leaving them struggling to rearrange their plans.

Another BA customer, Joanne Anderson described the airline as ‘dreadful’ over an ongoing battle for a refund, which lasted for over two months.

The 76-year-old said the airline’s customer service team had told her on numerous occasions that she could expect to receive a refund within 7-10 days, but it took nine weeks to arrive.

She told Which?: ‘It feels like they are making a fool of their customers. They want to frustrate them until they just give up and go away.’

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel said the airline’s ‘poor performance’ shows ‘how far it has fallen from the days when it was seen as setting the standards others should aspire to’.

He added: ‘There’s a clear disparity between airlines at the top and the bottom of the rankings. The top performers show it is possible to give passengers good service at a time when delays, cancellations and terrible customer service have become almost the norm.

‘Some airlines seem to think they can get away with treating their customers badly, knowing they are unlikely to face consequences in a sector with weak regulations.’

British Airways Airbus A320 airplane mid-flight — Which? members described BA as ‘dreadful’ (Picture: Getty Images)

A spokesperson for British Airways said: ‘This research from Which? is entirely at odds with comments from the hundreds of thousands of customers who we know do travel with British Airways and then tell us about their experience.

‘Their feedback tells us customers are seeing the benefit of our £7bn investment programme, with operational performance improving by 18 per cent over the last 12 months, partnered with the introduction of new aircraft, the unveiling of our new First seat, free Wi-Fi messaging on flights and upgrades to nine of our lounges.

‘This is also reflected in a recent independent study from Newsweek, which surveyed 17,000 people who voted us their Most Trusted Airline Brand.

‘There is always room for improvement and we know we don’t always get things right, but we’re proud of the progress we’re making and will continue to focus on delivering the best possible service for our customers.’