Why you shouldn’t always believe airline surveys

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That is what happened to Alex Cruz, boss of British Airways, which was rated worst among UK carriers for both short- and long-haul flying; and Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, whose airline was voted poorest overall in the world. At the time, lots of BA passengers were cheesed off with cancelled flights and the airline’s apparent disregard for European air passengers’ rights rules – refusing to rebook strike-hit customers on easyJet, for example. The magazine said: “Customers gave the airline the lowest possible score of one star out of a possible five in all categories including boarding, customer service and cabin experience, apart from value for money where it managed a two-star rating.” In sharp contrast was Jet2, which was second only to tiny Aurigny of Guernsey at the top of the short-haul table. members are fortunate enough to live in the country with the most competitive aviation market in the world – with British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair and Wizz Air battling it out for short-haul passengers, while BA, Norwegian and Virgin Atlantic take on dozens of rivals in long-haul.