Wizz Air named worst short-haul airline in Which? survey of UK passengers

A Which? survey has named Wizz Air the worst short-haul airline for the second year in a row.

In October 2023, the consumer champion’s annual airline satisfaction survey assessed 10,775 flights, with UK passengers asked to rate airlines on customer service, value for money, seat comfort, and food and drink.

The budget Hungarian carrier was criticised for delays and poor customer service, with one customer calling the airline “impossible” to communicate with when they sought assistance.

One star out of five was awarded to the airline for customer service with an overall score of 44 per cent cementing its second consecutive year in last place, just below Ryanair (47 per cent), Iberia (49 per cent) and Vueling (53 per cent).

No more than two stars were awarded to Wizz Air in any of the other categories, including value for money.

Jet2 took the top spot in the Which? research with a five-star customer service score and 80 per cent of flyers surveyed raising no issues with the airline.

Which? travel editor, Rory Boland, said: “Air fares have soared in recent years, and the bare minimum passengers should expect in return for their hard-earned cash is a reliable service, with friendly, easy-to-access customer support when they are let down.

“While the likes of Jet2 continue to excel in this regard, our survey shows that passengers of many airlines are sadly being shortchanged – with high rates of last-minute cancellations, abysmal customer service and sneaky extra fees for luggage hiking up the final price.”

Wizz Air strongly disputes the Which? conclusions, finding the survey methodology “misleading” and the results from the sample group “not representative” of the airline’s customer base.

Marion Geoffroy, UK managing director at Wizz Air UK, said: “We conduct customer satisfaction surveys across our network and hundreds of thousands of passengers have said they are satisfied with the service we provide. Our results show our customer satisfaction has improved year-on-year and is significantly higher than this report suggests.

“Wizz Air’s brand consideration is higher than our main UK competitor and the Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that Wizz Air is fully complying with its commitments to customers following the deed of undertaking signed last year.”

Geoffroy concluded: “We are proud of this progress and are confident that the public’s perception will become more reflective of our current performance, which is among the best in the UK.”