After border closures and being cooped up at home during the pandemic, many Australians are eager to jet off overseas.
Alongside choosing an exotic destination and picking a hotel, a reliable airline is a must for travellers.
A recent study by travel insurance experts at Compare the Market has revealed the most and least reliable airlines globally.
Experts examined data from the US and UK to look at various factors, including the number of complaints and how many were remedied, alongside the cause of those complaints – from flight cancellations to lost luggage.
No Aussie carriers made it onto the list.
Gordon Tanner, national sales and marketing manager for travel agent Bali Tours, told The New Daily that despite being dogged by reports of lacklustre performance, Qantas was among the airlines he consistently recommended to his customers.
“On the whole, carriers like Qantas, Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are the ones I recommend to travellers,” Mr Tanner told The New Daily.
“The reputation they constantly maintain, and their customer service, makes them stand out,” he said.
Qantas had a turbulent 2022, falling out of the top five ranking for the world’s best airlines amid a wave of customer dissatisfaction.
And the national carrier’s woes have carried through into the new year, with several flights turned back mid-flight in recent days.
The most reliable airlines
The five airlines found to be the most reliable by Compare the Market include:
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Air New Zealand
- Air Transat (Air Canada’s main rival)
- Azerbaijan Airlines
- Gol Airlines – the low-cost carrier for Brazil
Aerolineas Argentinas is Argentina’s national carrier, and in 2022 it received just one complaint regarding rude customer service and four cases of issues obtaining refunds for lost tickets and fare adjustments.
Worst performers
American Airlines is ranked the least reliable airline.
US airlines performed poorly across the board, with the bottom seven carriers all from the US.
American Airlines recorded a whopping 2183 flight problems, 157 cases of overselling tickets and 1476 issues with refunds.
United Airlines doesn’t fare much better, with 763 cases of lost, delayed, or damaged baggage over the past 12 months, 470 cases of misinformation on fares, and 22 cases of discrimination.
Spirit, JetBlue and Frontier – all low-cost airlines operating in the US – came out as some of the most unreliable airlines in the world.
Outside of America, the most unreliable airline is Germany’s Lufthansa, with 566 reports of baggage issues and 466 problems with getting refunds.
Air India and Air Canada didn’t fare so well either, with Air India’s main problem being difficulties obtaining reimbursements and Air Canada’s biggest issue was lost and delayed baggage.
In the UK, budget airline easyJet was the most unreliable, followed by holiday carrier TUI and low-cost carrier Ryanair coming in third place.
Domestic numbers
New data shows the Qantas network recorded 76.2 per cent for on-time arrivals in December, while the Virgin Australia network recorded 67.4 per cent.
The latest BITRE data released by the Department of Transport shows that performance across all major airlines averaged 71.1 per cent for on-time arrivals and 70.8 per cent for on-time departures.
The cancellation rate for the month was 3.4 per cent.
The equivalent figures for December 2021 were 84.2 per cent for on-time arrivals, 83.2 per cent for on-time departures, and 7.6 per cent for cancellations.
