Until a year ago, no one outside of the United Kingdom had heard of Jet2, a budget airline that specialises in providing charter flights for package vacations. That was until a jingle from the airline’s upbeat commercials went TikTok viral and captured the imagination of viewers around the world.
The now familiar refrain of ‘nothing beats a Jet2 holiday’ is proving to be truer than ever after the Leeds-based budget carrier was voted Britain’s favorite short-haul airline by the consumer group Which?
On Friday, Jet2 was awarded first place with a customer score of 76% in the short-haul category of the Which? annual customer satisfaction survey of more than 5,500 travellers.
But while Jet2 was lauded for reliability, value for money, and customer service, Europe’s largest budget airline, Ryanair, was the worst-performing short-haul airline with a customer score of just 55%.
Which? slammed Ryanair over their “ridiculously expensive charges for baggage and other add-ons,” which can sour the “enticingly low headline fares” that Ryanair attracts passengers with.
“We’ve repeatedly found that airlines that include baggage and seat allocation in their fares can actually work out cheaper overall,” commented Which? Travel editor Rory Boland. “Fly with anyone else, if you can.”
British Airways missed out on a podium position in the short-haul category, coming behind German flag carrier Lufthansa and Norwegian with a score of 72%, while the airline only reached 8th place in the long-haul category with the same overall customer score.
Singapore Airlines soared ahead in the long-haul category with a score of 81%, with passengers praising the kind cabin crew, the excellent food, and the comfortable cabin environment.
Despite its popularity among Brits, however, the airline missed out on being awarded as a Which? Recommended Provider because of its ‘no show clause’, which means the airline will cancel your return ticket if you miss your outbound flight.
Both Emirates and Virgin Atlantic did, though, get rewarded with Which? Recommended Provider status after they came second and third, respectively, in the long-haul category.
“This recognition reflects the care our teams put into every journey – from reliability to the premium experience our customers choose us for time and again,” commented Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, Corneel Koster.
“Being one of only two airlines to receive five stars for customer service makes this even more meaningful,” Koster added.
A spokesperson for Ryanair dismissed the Which? survey calling it fake and manufactured. In a statement, the Dublin-based carrier scoffed: “Neither we nor our 208 million passengers pay any attention to these made-up manufactured surveys or their fake results.”
Wizz Air, which also performed badly in the Which? survey, also questioned the validity of the research, saying it “relies on a tiny sample size” of just 259 people, which equates to just 0.002% of the 12 million passengers carried on Wizz Air UK flights in 2025.
Last month, EasyJet was reprimanded by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over claims that passengers could buy a large cabin bag allowance for just £5.99.
The complaint against EasyJet was brought by Which? who said EasyJet’s claims that prices were available ‘from £5.99’ were “misleading and unsubstantiated.”
EasyJet insisted that large cabin bag prices were available at this price, but couldn’t provide any data on how many times this price was actually available. Because the airline couldn’t back up its claims with evidence, the ADA ordered EasyJet to change its wording to avoid misleading consumers.
