A new survey has found that Wizz Air has been named the worst airline for customer service in the UK, closely followed by other major competitors.
Wizz Air has landed at the bottom of the rankings in a recent Which? survey as the UK’s least favourite short-haul airline.
British travellers gave the airline a thumbs down. Ryanair, often chastised for subpar customer service, received a slightly kinder verdict, scraping by only as the second-worst-rated airline in the UK, the consumer watchdog reports.
Which? collected opinions from over 4,000 people in May 2024 to grade the customer service levels of companies across various critical sectors. The airlines nose-dived to third from the bottom for customer service out of the nine sectors scrutinised.
Wizz Air got stuck in a tailspin with a net satisfaction score of a mere 13, far from flying high with the average sector score of 52. Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy remarked: “Travellers are currently facing some of the highest ever fares, but our latest survey shows the standards of customer service of some airlines to be very poor.”
He continued: “Airlines must step up their game and ensure they are properly investing in their customer services to make it easier for passengers to get in touch with someone who can help, and get timely and effective solutions when they encounter a problem.” The turbulent times continue for Wizz Air, especially following last year’s pledge by the budget carrier to elevate its service levels, reports the Express.
The Which? survey revealed that nearly three in five respondents who had dealings with Wizz Air reported experiencing at least one issue with their customer services, compared to two in five across the airline industry as a whole.
Among those who reported issues with Wizz Air’s customer service, about 44 percent of them experienced long delays in receiving email responses, and the same percentage of people reported dealing with unhelpful or dismissive advisors.
A third of those who encountered problems said they waited a long time on the phone before speaking to an advisor, and a significant number did not manage to get through at all. Shockingly, a fifth of respondents claimed they could not reach customer services despite continuous attempts or never received email responses.
A worrying 13 percent of people even had their call disconnected after spending a long time in the queue.
Ryanair also performed poorly, scoring a satisfaction rating of just 28, followed by the national carrier British Airways, which managed a score of 46.
The Irish, ultra-low-cost carrier group Ryanair received a disappointing customer satisfaction score of nine for the range of contact options provided, compared to the sector average of 39. Furthermore, it scored a low 16 for the time taken to reach a person who could assist, compared to the industry average of 40.
Nearly half of Ryanair customers who took part in a survey reported issues when they contacted customer services. With the airline’s additional charges for extras like baggage and seat selection, it may not necessarily be the cheapest option, making it hard for customers to overlook a poor travel experience.
British Airways, our national flag carrier, was ranked third worst for overall customer service, with a net satisfaction score of 46, compared to the sector average of 52. A shocking 48 percent of those surveyed who had interacted with British Airways reported issues with their customer service.
However, it did perform on par or better than the sector average in certain areas, scoring 56 for the resolution of issues and queries and 48 for the range of contact options available, against the sector’s score of 39.
In contrast, Jet2 topped the table as the highest-scoring airline with a customer satisfaction score of 81.
