If you travel as much as our team here at DFC does, you likely have a favorite and least favorite airline. You probably have one you’re loyal to for points and another that scarred you for life. And when you have a bad experience, you likely have the same instinct many do, which is to complain on Twitter.
Currency exchange platform, S Money, has taken those tweets (both good and bad) and analyzed them to find out which airlines are the most loved and hated airlines around the world.
The most loved
- The most loved airline was Bearskin Airlines out of Canada. The Ontario-based airline, which serves 11 regional destinations is reliable and its Tripadvisor reviews boast its cleanliness, efficient boarding, and kind staff.
- Canada dominated the top 10 and took home the #2 and #4 spots as well.
- TAP Express, out of Portugal, was Europe’s most beloved airline.
- African airlines like Auric Air out of Tanzania, Airkenya Express in Kenya, and Proflight Zambia took 5th, 9th, and 10th place, respectively.
- Alaska Airlines was the most loved country in the US.
The most hated
- Go India was the most hated airline in the world with 73.8% negative tweets.
- TAP Air Portugal, not to be confused with TAP Express above, was the 2nd most hated.
- Canadian airlines also dominated the most hated listed with WestJet, Flair, and Air Transat landing in 4th, 5th, and 7th place, respectively.
- In the US, Spirit landed in the 8th most hated slot. Frontier was 9th most hated worldwide but #1 most hated in the US as a whole.
- The US and India each have two airlines in the top 10 most hated list but none in the 10 most loved.
A similar study by consumer body Which? asked 8,000 UK travelers to rate airlines based on criteria like value, customer service, and boarding experience. Their survey ranked Lufthansa as the worst long-haul airline followed by British Airways.
The worst airline overall, according to their survey, was Wizz Air, with a “dire” customer service rating of 48%. Ryanair followed closely behind, even though they had notably better customer service than Wizz Air.
Some airlines are not so happy with the rankings nor do they trust the reviews. Ryanair reps shared, “This is just more fake news from yet another fake survey by Which?, who repeatedly make false claims about Ryanair – the UK’s most reliable and low fare airline.”
Regardless of the findings in studies like this, you likely have your own opinions about the airlines you’ve flown with. Particularly bad experiences can be more memorable than good ones, but studies like these show interesting patterns.
by travelers, for travelers.
