Economy Ranking of the best and worst European airlines

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The Belgian consumer protection magazine Test Achats has compared the quality and reliability of 17 airlines in Europe (+ American Airlines). Here is a summary of their ranking.


Punctuality

Top 3

  1. Lufthansa
  2. Brussels Airlines
  3. KLM

Bottom 3

  1. TAP Portugal
  2. Iberia
  3. Alitalia


Value for money

Top 3

  1. RyanAir
  2. British Airways
  3. easyJet

Bottom 3

  1. TAP Portugal
  2. Iberia
  3. Alitalia


Seats

Top 3

  1. American Airlines
  2. KLM
  3. British Airways

Bottom 3

  1. Thomas Cook Airlines
  2. RyanAir
  3. TNT

Staff/flight attendants

Top 3

  1. TNT
  2. JetairFly
  3. Brussels Airlines

Bottom 3

  1. Alitalia
  2. Iberia
  3. RyanAir

Check-in procedure

Top 3

  1. Lufthansa
  2. Brussels Airlines
  3. KLM

Bottom 3

  1. Iberia
  2. Alitalia
  3. RyanAir


The ranking was established based on feedback from Belgian customers, which explains why some airlines are not in the list. I am not sure which airlines were excluded. There is no mention of Air France, Swiss Air, Austrian Airlines, SAS or Finnair. Air France is surely listed, but never made the top or bottom 3.

It's amazing how well cultural stereotypes apply to airlines regarding punctuality. German and Dutch-speaking companies top the list, while Latin countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal) pay the least heed to it.

The staff ranking is surely biased by the fact that respondents were Belgian, as the three airlines on top are Belgian (well JetairFly is the Belgian subsidiary of the UK's TUI Travel), and therefore communication problems should be less frequent.
 
Let's see how the quality and reliability of airlines has evolved in the last 12 years. These are the rankings from the same magazine for 2022.

Based on a customer satisfaction survey:

Best Airlines

  1. Luxair : 86%
  2. Emirates : 84%
  3. Qatar Airways : 83%

Worst Airlines

  1. AerLingus : 59%
  2. Wizzair : 62%
  3. Ryanair & Corendon Airlines : 65%

For a more serious and professional ranking, it's better to look at Skytrax, a UK-based consultancy that conducts research for commercial airlines, as well as taking surveys from international travellers to rate cabin staff, airports, airlines, airline lounges, in-flight entertainment, on-board catering, and several other elements of air travel. Here is their ranking of the world's best airlines for 2023.

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. Japan Airlines
6. Turkish Airlines
7. Air France
8. Cathay Pacific
9. EVA Air
10. Korean Air
11. Hainan Airlines
12. Swiss Int’l Air Lines
13. Etihad Airways
14. Iberia
15. Fiji Airways
16. Vistara
17. Qantas Airways
18. British Airways
19. Air New Zealand
20. Delta Air Lines

Skytrax provides star ratings for each airline in the world. Only 12 airlines were awarded 5 stars. Oddly enough some 5 stars airlines didn't make the world's top 20 airlines, probably because they are regional airlines. They are Asiana Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, and Hainan Airlines.

Luxair from Luxembourg, which topped the customer satisfaction in Belgium, is not in the top 20 either, probably because it's a small regional airline too. Nevertheless it's rated 4 stars like most of those in the top 20.

Things have changed a lot regarding the punctuality of European airlines since 2010. Nowadays the four most punctual airlines are all Spanish: Iberia, Air Europa, Iberia Express and Vueling. ITA Airlines, which replaced AlItalia, is ranked 7th. On the other hand Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines and KLM are no longer in the top 10 for punctuality!
 

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