The best and worst airlines for flight delays and compensation


Updated on 04 March 2016 | 3 Comments

The saints and sinners of the airline industry have been revealed.

Two of Britain’s biggest airlines have come bottom of a survey of the best and worst carriers in the world.

easyJet came second bottom of the list of airlines based on things like flight delays and handling of compensation, followed by Virgin Atlantic which came third last.

The airlines – which have rejected the findings – only managed to outperform Sata, a Portuguese carrier dubbed the worst in the world by the report.

AirHelp, a company that handles compensation for delayed flights, compiled the lists of saints and sinners. 34 airlines were scored based on punctuality, quality of performance, the time taken to make valid pay-outs and the number of times legitimate claims were refused.

The best airline according to the report was Qatar Airways, with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines taking second place. Air France, Lufthansa and Latvian airline Air Baltic tied for third place.

The highest-ranking UK airline was British Airways, rated ninth overall.

Best and worst airlines

Here are the top 10 airlines according to AirHelp.

Airline

Country

Quality performance

On-time performance

Claim processing

Overall score

Qatar Airways

Qatar

10

8.7

8.1

8.9

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Netherlands

8

8.8

8.7

8.5

Air Baltic Cooperation

Latvia

6

9.4

9.3

8.2

Air France

France

8

8.3

8.3

8.2

Lufthansa German Airlines

Germany

8

8.6

8

8.2

Air Canada

Canada

8

7.9

8.2

8

Emirates

United Arab Emirates

8

8.2

7.6

7.9

Croatia Airlines

Croatia

6

8.2

9.5

7.9

British Airways

United Kingdom

8

7.7

7.8

7.8

Finnair

Finland

8

9

6.4

7.8

And here are the 10 worst.

Airline

Country

Quality performance

On-time performance

Claim processing

Overall score

Sata International

Portugal

6

6.7

2.9

5.2

easyJet

United Kingdom

6

8

3.4

5.8

Virgin Atlantic Airways

United Kingdom

8

7.6

3.1

6.2

Swiss International Air Lines

Switzerland

8

7.9

3.3

6.4

TAP Portugal

Portugal

6

8.1

6.2

6.8

Aer Lingus

Ireland

6

8

6.6

7

Iberia

Spain

6

8.9

6

7

Alitalia – Compagnia Aerea Italiana Spa

Italy

6

8

6.9

7

Icelandair

Iceland

6

6

9.1

7.1

Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norway

6

8.7

6.5

7.1

Ryanair

Ireland

4

8.9

8.5

7.2

What the airlines say

easyJet defended its record on compensation payments. A spokesman for the low-cost carrier said: "We do not recognise these findings. EasyJet has been commended by its regulator the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) for its handling of EU261 claims and we will always pay compensation when it is due."

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: "We strongly question the validity of this report. We do everything we can to respond as quickly as possible and on average pay all eligible EU261 claims 14 days after receipt."

How to claim compensation from airlines

If you have been delayed or had your flight cancelled, you may be able to claim compensation.

But you don’t need to go through a claims handling company. You can do it yourself for free.

Take a look at our guide How to claim compensation for delayed and cancelled flights for help.

Take a look at the air mile credit cards you can use to bag a free flight

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