Easyjet Beats Ryanair

Easyjet passengers are more satisfied with the airline’s service than people who fly with no-frills rival Ryanair, according to a survey of more than 30,000 members of consumer group Which?*

In the battle of the best-known no-frills airlines, neither did particularly well, but Easyjet beat rival Ryanair with an overall customer satisfaction score of 59 per cent to 47 per cent. Easyjet got reasonable scores for the helpfulness and efficiency of cabin staff, cleanliness of planes and how it dealt with any delays, while Ryanair was rated poorly in all these areas. Both airlines were rated poorly for food, comfort and pre-flight arrangements.

Surprisingly, neither Easyjet or Ryanair got top marks for value for money – the best of the full-service carriers did just as well or better on this measure, showing that being cheap and being good value are not necessarily the same. But no-frills doesn’t have to mean poor service, as Germanwings (79 per cent) and Hungary’s Wizz Air (69 per cent) were two of the highest-scoring short-haul airlines despite their no-frills approach.

British Airways was the most frequently used airline in the survey, but it received distinctly average satisfaction scores for short- and long-haul flights and also fared badly for delays on its short-haul flights. Best of the UK carriers was Bournemouth-based, single-plane airline Palmair, which came top in the short-haul category with a score of 80 per cent.

Passengers flying long-haul were more likely overall to be satisfied with their airline’s service. Singapore Airlines was named top in the long-haul category with an impressive customer satisfaction score of 85 per cent. India’s Jet Airways (84 per cent) and Air New Zealand (80 per cent) also got excellent ratings for customer satisfaction.

Neil Fowler, Editor, Which? magazine, says:

“The glamour of air travel may have gone, but there are still some classy carriers out there that will make getting to your destination an enjoyable part of your holiday. You might think that you get what you pay for, but the best European no-frills airlines prove that you can offer a stripped down service at a good price and keep your customers happy. As for Ryanair and Easyjet, they might be cheap, but if you want great customer service then look elsewhere.”

26 June 2008