Aer Lingus flies high in survey

CONSUMER RESEARCH:AER LINGUS has finished second in a customer satisfaction survey of 18 short haul carriers operating across Europe while Ryanair was ranked second last.

The survey of 5,745 people was carried out by influential consumer magazine Which? Holiday. It rated airlines on their cabin staff, cleanliness, seating arrangements, legroom, cabin baggage allowance, checked bags allowance, dealing with delays and value for money.

Swiss was found to be the best short haul airline and earned an approval rating of 72 per cent just ahead of Aer Lingus which finished on 71 per cent. Thomas Cook was last with a rating of just 37 per cent while Ryanair got an approval rating of 43 per cent.

Thomas Cook was criticised for restricted legroom and its insistence on collecting full contact details of passengers before it disclosed the final ticket price.

The surveyed highlighted Ryanair’s restrictive baggage allowance and surcharges while its cabin cleanliness, seating arrangements and legroom also came in for criticism.

Which? Holidaypointed out that while easyJet charges £3.50 (€4.25) for an entire booking, Ryanair charges £5 (€6.10) per passenger per leg of a journey, so a return journey for four people with Ryanair would cost just under €50 compared with €17 on easyJet.

Aer Lingus director of communications Declan Kearney said he was “delighted” with the survey which was a “testament” to the airline’s “winning combination of great value fares and excellent customer service”.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara dismissed the results and said the survey reflected “the opinions of 5,700 people who like to complain, whereas Ryanair is the choice of 73 million people who like good value, cheap fares, the least lost baggage and the best punctuality”.

Which? Holidayalso rated 17 long haul carriers. Air New Zealand finished first with 86 per cent while Singapore Airlines was second on 85 per cent. South African Airways was viewed scored just 37 per cent overall.

"Our rigorous research shows that while the cost of flights is important to customers, it's things like friendly cabin staff and reasonable luggage allowances that leave a lasting impression," said Rochelle Turner, head of research for Which? Holidaymagazine.