British Airways named worst airline for assistance when flight is delayed or cancelled
Norwegian and Jet2 ranked most helpful
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British Airways has been named the worst airline for handling complaints when a flight is delayed or cancelled.
A Which? survey collected more 2,600 experiences of airline cancellations and delays during September and October last year.
The lowest level of satisfaction was recorded by British Airways passengers, with only 15 per cent of passengers happy with the outcome of their complaint over a delayed or cancelled flight. On the whole, three in four customers were left dissatisfied, said Which?
But BA passengers affected by disruption were able to find an airport worker 69 per cent of the time, and found staff helpful 82 per cent of the time.
Ryanair followed BA in the dissatisfaction stakes, with 63 per cent of travellers disappointed when dealing with complaints, while easyJet placed third with 49 per cent.
The survey found that Ryanair customers were the least likely to find a staff member to help them, with 61 per cent of passengers in this position. And when they did, only 58 per cent of Ryanair customers found the staff helpful.
Emirates ranked top for customer assistance in the event of a flight delay or cancellation (74 per cent), followed by Jet2 (73 per cent) and Virgin Atlantic (73 per cent).
Norwegian Air and Jet2 staff were both deemed to be the most helpful overall (92 per cent), said the consumer champion.
Across all airlines, 44 per cent of passengers said there were no staff at all available to help them when their flight was delayed or cancelled. Only 27 per cent of people were satisfied overall by the way their complaint about a delay was handled, while 61 per cent were left disappointed.
“Our research shows that it’s not just the usual suspects who are letting their customers down with poor customer service – even British Airways is falling well short in dealing with complaints when flights are delayed or cancelled,” said Which? Travel’s Naomi Leach.
“With the potential for widespread disruption to summer holiday travel plans in the coming weeks, airlines must ensure they have the staff and resources to deal sensitively with passengers hit by delayed or cancelled flights.”
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We continually review and improve our customer service performance, and always aim to provide our customers with a satisfactory and speedy response to their complaints.
“Our social media team respond to enquiries 24 hours a day, and together with our contact centres and customer relations teams, provide assistance to tens of thousands of customers every week.
“We've now made it even easier for customers to receive assistance by launching a dedicated page on our website at ba.com/helpme.”
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