British Airways and Virgin top airline customer survey

The UK’s first Customer Satisfaction Index, released yesterday by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS), found British Airways and Virgin Atlantic lead as the nation’s favourite airline brands, while Ryanair emerged as one of the worst

BA and Virgin both received customer approval ratings well above the average of 66%, while Ryanair trailed significantly behind with only a 55% approval rating. Easyjet scored just above average with a 68% percent customer satisfaction rating.

When it came to customers’ perception of value for money, Easyjet scored above BA and Virgin with 76%.

The survey, which had 2,000 respondents, tested how happy customers are with the service they receive across 10 sectors, including utilities, transport, healthcare and retail chains. Online travel providers were not included in the survey.  

ICS executive director Robert Crawford said: “All the bottom five companies show up particularly badly when dealing with complaints and demonstrate a poor attitude to customer relations.

“I think this is partly due to their history as most of the organisations in these sectors are either monopolies or ex-monopolies. Some, of course, such as Ryanair, don’t have that excuse.”

He added: “The outcomes, on the whole, leave a lot to be desired. The overall picture is that customers’ needs are not being met and the gap between those giving good and bad service is widening.”

The customer satisfaction index will be updated every six months and will be available for review online at UKcsi.com.

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