The Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) in Spain has released a survey to determine the level of satisfaction of nearly 20,000 users from 11 different countries with the 37 most popular airlines. The objective was to identify the airlines that have the most content travellers in terms of punctuality, service, and comfort.
The report revealed that 78% of respondents travelled for leisure, while only 15% travelled for work. Additionally, two out of three users fly from June to October, with September being the busiest month with 21% of travellers. Interestingly, 64% of users prefer to buy their tickets online, typically on the airline’s website.
The assessment criteria included punctuality of flights, quality of staff service, comfort and facilities when purchasing tickets online and during the flight itself. According to the survey results, the best airlines were Luxair, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Binter Canarias, which received high praise for their professionalism, ease of check-in, and excellent on-board experience.
Among the worst-rated airlines were two Irish companies, Aer Lingus and Ryanair, as well as Wizzair, which passengers criticised for poor punctuality and service deficiencies.
Regarding Spanish airlines, Binter Canarias, Air Europa, Iberia Express and Iberia were among the top 20 airlines. Volotea received a middle ranking, while Vueling Airlines had the lowest ratings due to high ticket prices, luggage problems, and poor punctuality, according to the OCU.
The survey also revealed that one in four flights experienced issues of some kind, with delayed arrivals being the most common problem encountered by 19% of respondents. Cancellations with rebooking affected 4% of travellers, while other less frequent incidents included lost or damaged luggage (2%), missed connections (2%), overbooking (1%), and denied boarding (1%).