The airline with the poorest customer satisfaction in Britain has been unveiled, and it's not Jet2, Wizz Air or easyJet.

In many cases, our choice of carrier depends on finding the cheapest available fare when making a reservation, with fierce rivalry amongst leading low-cost operators such as Jet2, Wizz Air, Ryanair, and easyJet for European routes. However, the airline selected for our trip can dramatically affect our entire journey, from reservation and check-in procedures through to onboard service standards.

An annual customer satisfaction study of over 5,500 passengers by Which? has now determined that Ryanair was the poorest-performing short-haul carrier.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Neither we nor our 208m passengers pay any attention to these made-up manufactured surveys or their fake results. Every passenger booking a flight has a choice and last year 208m consumers chose Ryanair, whilst nobody reads or pays any attention to Which? fake surveys."

In the Which? rankings, Ryanair achieved just one star for seat comfort, whilst receiving two out of five stars for its reservation system, boarding procedures, customer service and cabin conditions. In terms of value for money on short-haul flights, the airline received a three-star rating, matching easyJet and Wizz Air, but lagging behind carriers such as Jet2, Lufthansa, TUI and Aer Lingus.

Overall, Ryanair scored a customer satisfaction rate of 55 per cent in the short-haul survey, placing it at the bottom of a list of 24 airlines. Just ahead of Ryanair in the customer survey, with a total score of 59 per cent, was Wizz Air.

The budget airline, which had 259 passengers participate in the Which? survey, was given two stars for its booking process, boarding, customer service, and cabin environment. However, it did receive three stars for its value for money.

A spokesperson for Wizz Air also commented: "Once again, Which's survey relies on a tiny sample size. It surveyed 259 people, which is only 0.002% of the 12 million passengers carried on our UK flights in 2025. No credible organisation can claim that such a sample is representative.

"Our robust passenger numbers - which increase every year - clearly demonstrate that travellers appreciate WIZZ's low fares and industry-leading operational performance. We're continuing to deliver on the commitments outlined in our £12 billion Customer First Compass initiative. From October 2024 to December 2025, customer satisfaction increased by eight percentage points. At the same time, our flight completion rate in the UK was 99.7% - consistently among the best in the industry - whilst our on-time performance improved by 14% year-on-year.

"This year, we look forward to welcoming even more passengers on board Europe's youngest and most modern fleet, taking advantage of our low prices on our biggest ever summer leisure network to many new destinations in Spain, Greece, and France."

By sharp contrast, Jet2 led the rankings with 76 per cent, securing a four-star rating for its booking procedure, customer service and value for money. One passenger said: "Compared with other budget airlines, they give you a generous luggage allowance, which makes such a difference."

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