The best and worst airlines in Europe, in terms of reliability, payment practices and customer satisfaction, are revealed by the Flightright index, compiled by the homonymous portal for the protection of consumer rights in air transport.
The index, which is based on the analysis of millions of flight data, the evaluation of the speed and effectiveness of compensation and an in-depth consumer survey, highlighted Finnair, Vueling and Ryanair as the three worst airlines based on the above ratings, and Discover Airlines, Eurowings and Iberia as the best.
At the bottom of the overall ranking, where Finnair (2.48 stars), Vueling (2.52 stars) and Ryanair (2.58 stars) are located, Finnair scores below average, especially in terms of its reliability in flight delays and cancellations, where it received 1.5 stars.
Regarding the payment practices of the three carriers, Vueling and Ryanair received just 2 stars, while Finnair received three. Due to Finnair’s presence in the lower positions of the ranking, Flightright’s passenger rights expert Feyza T?rk?n points out that “it is no longer correct to say that only low-cost carriers perform worse than premium carriers. Therefore, quality is not automatically linked to the ticket price.”
On the other hand, three airlines show that reliable service and customer-friendly behavior do not have to be the exception in air travel. German carrier Discover Airlines, with a score of 3.33 stars, topped the index due to its excellent payment practices, earning 5 stars for its willingness to pay compensation, a feature that other carriers lack significantly.
Eurowings also made the cut in the top 10, with an overall score of 3.32 stars, and Iberia with 3.25. Iberia scored particularly high (4.5 stars) for reliability, indicating lower rates of flight delays and cancellations.
Airlines, Vueling and Ryanair worst at paying compensation
In terms of payment behavior, i.e. how quickly airlines pay compensation for flight delays or cancellations, the three airlines with the lowest scores were Turkish Airlines, Vueling and Ryanair (2 stars) followed by Lufthansa and British Airways (3 stars). The best performer was Discover Airlines, achieving 5 stars.
At the same time, none of the 20 airlines evaluated achieved a rating of more than three stars in the customer satisfaction category, based on speed and reliability criteria. The best performer was British Airways (3.15 stars), followed by Austrian Airlines (3.07 stars), and the lowest were easyJet (2.03) and SAS (2.05).
In this context, Flightright draws attention to the petition by the European consumer association APRA, which is against the planned reform of the EU regulation on air passenger rights. The reform is not yet final as the European Parliament has the final say. Over 60,000 people have already signed their opposition to it and the goal is to reach 100,000 signatures.
In particular, on 5 June, the EU Council voted in favour of a new regulation which, from the consumer advocates’ perspective, means massive cuts:
-Compensation will only be paid after a flight is delayed by 4 or even 6 hours – instead of 3 hours as before.
-The compensation limit is set at 500 or 300 euros, even if flight prices increase.
-More exceptions, more bureaucracy, less clarity, to the detriment of travelers.
