The UK’s best and worst airlines for customer service over the past year have been revealed in a new Which? survey.
It’s peak holiday season for millions of Brits nationwide at the moment, with August having just arrived and schools across the country now out for the summer, so it stands to reason that more people will be hopping on a plane in search of some sunshine than usual, and with that, airlines will have a lot more customers to keep satisfied.
But which airlines are considered to be the ‘worst’ when it comes to customer service?
Well, in a bid to get to the bottom of this, Which? decided to run one of its annual surveys to see “where customer service is going wrong” – and, on the flip side, where it’s going right – and find out who the worst offenders are.
The leading consumer group asked more than 1,000 adult passengers who had travelled with and contacted a major UK airline in the last year about their experiences of customer service, and asked them a series of questions to answer with ratings based on how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with that experience.
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Which? also used undercover researchers posing as customers to contact some of the UK’s most popular airlines, as well as those that previously rated poorly for customer service or rated poorly overall in its recent surveys, during the busy Easter break earlier this year.
British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, KLM, Tui, Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air were the airlines contacted.
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Unfortunately, it was Wizz Air that claimed the not-so-coveted top spot on the 2024 list, with fellow budget airline Ryanair following close behind in second.
A table of results showing the UK’s worst airlines for ‘overall customer service’ in 2024 / Credit: Which?
Wizz Air received the lowest scores with only +13 satisfaction rating for ‘overall customer service’, which is 39 points behind the sector average of +52, while Ryanair also performed poorly and sits at nearly half the sector average with a mere +28.
British Airways was the only other airline to perform below average for ‘overall customer service’, sitting third-from-bottom of the table with a score of +46, which is 6 points below the average.
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While Which? says its latest survey findings go some way to suggesting there may be some underlying issues affecting airlines’ customer service that needs to be addressed, and that improving these should be a “priority to regain customer trust and satisfaction” for the airlines found to be the worst offender, it’s not all doom and gloom.
That’s because, on the positive side, Jet2 achieved the highest satisfaction scores across nearly all categories – including ‘overall customer service’.
The only exception for Jet2 was the question ‘how well my issue/query was resolved’, where Emirates instead claimed the top spot here, with a rating of +81.
The Northern Belle, ‘Britain’s poshest train’, is coming to Manchester, with a seven-course banquet on board
Thomas Melia
A luxury train that’s been dubbed the poshest in Britain is steaming into Manchester this year, offering passengers a chance to sit in the same seats as royalty.
The Northern Belle will set off for its first trip of 2025 from Manchester Victoria, whisking people on a breathtaking journey through the Yorkshire Dales.
Whilst on board the Settle-Carlisle railway line, guests will tuck into a a show-stopping seven course banquet with bottles of champagne and wine.
The steam locomotive is a 1930’s Pullman-style train and used to form part of the iconic Orient Express experience, and takes on its journeys with an on-board live band.
Self-proclaimed as ‘Britain’s poshest train’, this vintage travel vehicle has been known to host a famous face or two, including acting legend Billy Nighy, who described the locomotive as ‘the Grand Dame of luxury travel’.
It’s not just Hollywood A Listers travelling in style – the royals have been known to frequent these four carriage walls.
On board The Northern Belle, which will visit Manchester in March. Credit: Supplied
One of the seven carriages which will be making the journey used to be party of Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Train, and is home to the Queen Mum’s favourite seat, where she would sit and wave through the window while sipping a gin and tonic.
A red carpet will be rolled out at Manchester Victoria to welcome everyone hopping on board this high-class rail service, with tickets from £365.
The Northern Belle departs Manchester city centre around 10am, collecting more passengers from Bolton before cruising some of the UK’s finest countryside.
Dust off your glad rags and get ready to be the ‘Belle’ of the ball as you travel on vintage locomotive The Northern Belle.
This isn’t the only Northern Belle trip running this year as you can make your big and bold entrance to both Royal Ascot and Chelsea Flower Show via this comfortable and certainly not modest rail liner.
Just like its epic decorum, the prices follow the same bold style with tickets varying from £365 upwards depending on which event you’d like to attend.
Arriving on 1 March 2025, this luxury train is making a special stop in Greater Manchester with tickets available to purchase HERE.
Macclesfield Forest – The picture-perfect country walk that looks like a postcard in winter weather
Daisy Jackson
It is absolutely baltic out there – but also pretty beautiful, and we’ve found you a winter walk that looks better than ever at this time of year.
The weather in the UK has well and truly turned wintery, with temperatures dropped below zero and the big coats permanently glued to our backs.
That comes with a lot of bad bits, like being really bloody cold all the time, having to scrape the car every time you use it, and energy bills going through the roof if you want to put your heating on for five seconds.
But also, when you stop and look around on a good day, brilliant blue skies, frost-tipped landscapes, perfect sunsets and crunchy leaves.
This sort of winter weather is actually perfect for a big walk, with no risk of sunburn or sweaty backs, so we say let’s all get wrapped up warm and head on out to the beautiful countryside around our home city.
One of the most stunning sites in the north west is just across the border into Cheshire. We are of course talking about Macclesfield Forest.
Here, huge conifers dominate the landscape like giant Christmas trees – it’s about as close to an alpine wonderland you can get without travelling all the way to actual mountains.
When it snows, the whole forest is muffled. The only sounds you’ll hear is the soft thump of snow falling off the branches.
And if you don’t fancy killing an entire afternoon wandering through the woodland, there are also two reservoirs – Trentabank and Ridgegate to explore.
There are a number of walking trails to follow, from a gently green route all the way to a more challenging red route that takes you deeper into the forest.
If you brave the uphill climbs, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views over the Cat and Fiddle Moors and the Cheshire Plains.
And then you can defrost from your walk in the cosy Leather’s Smithy pub, which dates back to the 18th century and serves proper pub grub and real ales.
Leather’s Smithy, a cosy 18th century pub serving real ales, locally-distilled Forest Gin made from botanicals foraged nearby, and comforting pub grub.
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2024 
