Which carried out a survey of over 4,000 people in May 2024 to establish how well businesses across a range of key sectors are handling customer service, and where they are falling short.
Concerningly, with the peak summer season now in full swing, the consumer champion found that the airline industry is falling behind in customer service standards compared to other industries, scoring a satisfaction score of just +52.
In contrast, the financial services sector scored +72.It was jointly the third lowest scoring industry of the nine Which? looked at, tied with broadband on a score of +52, and just ahead of the energy sector on +51.
They assessed how airlines are performing across eight different areas of customer service, such as how easy it is to find a contact number, how long it takes to get in touch with a person who can help and how well issues are dealt with.
By far the poorest performing airline overall was Wizz Air, with a net satisfaction score of just +13, well below the sector average of +52.
Ryanair also scored poorly, with a satisfaction score of +28, followed by flag carrier British Airways with a score of +46.Wizz Air’s place at the bottom of the customer service tables comes more than a year since the airline publicly committed to improving its customer service*, and follows a separate Which? survey earlier this year which saw it named the worst short haul airline in the UK, with customer service among the key issues identified at the time.In this latest survey, around three in five (57%) people surveyed who had contacted Wizz Air reported experiencing at least one problem with their customer services, compared to two in five across the airline industry overall.
Of those who reported an issue in their customer service dealings with Wizz Air, around four in ten reported long delays in receiving a response to their email, and the same number also reported speaking to unhelpful or dismissive advisors.
A third of those who had problems said they waited a long time on the phone before speaking to an advisor, and a significant number did not manage to get through at all.
A fifth said they could not reach customer services despite continuous attempts, the same number never received a response to their email.
Around one in ten had their call disconnected after spending a long time in the queue.The problems reported with Wizz Air customer service are clearly reflected in the satisfaction scores, which were well below average across the board. It received -3 for how long it took to get in touch with someone who could help, compared to the sector average of +40, and just +7 for how long it took to get an answer compared to the sector average of +49.
Ryanair was just ahead of Wizz Air, with an overall customer score of +28.Like Wizz Air, it received below average scores in each of the eight categories the consumer champion assessed. This includes a customer satisfaction score of just +9 for the variety of contact options provided, against the sector average of +39. It also scored just +16 for how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help, compared to +40 for the industry as a whole.
Worryingly, half of Ryanair customers surveyed who contacted customer services reported experiencing a problem.Three in ten of those who experienced an issue said that they waited a long time on the phone, a quarter said there were long delays receiving a response to an email and a further quarter also said they failed to get through to someone despite continuous attempts to do so.
Ryanair has generally been dismissive of calls to improve its customer service. However, now that an array of charges for extras like baggage and seat selection mean the airline is not guaranteed to be the cheapest fare, it may not be able to ignore this important area forever. Flag carrier British Airways was the third poorest performing airline for overall customer service, receiving a net satisfaction score of +46, compared to the sector average of +52, and concerningly, half of people surveyed who had contacted British Airways reported a problem with their customer service interactions.
Nonetheless, in certain categories it did score in line with or above the sector average, including a score of +56 for how well issues and queries were resolved (compared to +53 sector average) and +48 for the variety of contact options provided, compared to +39 for the sector as a whole. At the other end of the table, Which? Recommended Provider Jet2 was the highest scoring airline with a customer satisfaction score of +81.
It is essential that airlines take action to make it easier for their customers to get timely and effective solutions to their problems. Difficulty accessing effective customer service support can have serious consequences when customers are trying to get advice, refunds or help with rerouting when flights are delayed or cancelled.
Which? believes it is essential that the new government prioritises giving the Civil Aviation Authority direct fining powers, both to deter airlines from mistreating customers, and to ensure that airlines can be held properly to account when they fail to uphold consumer law.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:
“Travellers are currently facing some of the highest ever fares, but our latest survey shows the standards of customer service of some airlines to be very poor.“Airlines must step up their game and ensure they are properly investing in their customer services to make it easier for passengers to get in touch with someone who can help, and get timely and effective solutions when they encounter a problem.
“The government must prioritise giving the Civil Aviation Authority stronger powers, including direct fining powers, so it can properly hold airlines to account when they fail to comply with consumer protection laws.”
