Top airlines we do not recommend
Air travel offers you a wonderful experience, especially if you have chosen to fly with a reputable air carrier. You will agree that the choice of an airline is an important one.
Frequent flyers will agree that comfort and convenience is crucial when it comes to air travel. For this reason you should be careful in your choice of an airline.
The number of existing airlines is certainly big and your choice of an airline company depends on the number of carriers available in your country and the destination of choice.
We will present you some of the world’s worst companies we don’t recommend you to fly with, if you value quality and comfort.
Top worst airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines
This former airline was based in the United Kingdom and it operated flights to more than 60 destinations until 2019. Thomas Cook Airlines offered flights to – the U.S, Cuba, Canary Islands and other destinations.
The airline was famous for its cheap flights and travel packages but it received negative reviews from customers. It experienced a sudden shutdown after 178 years in the sphere of airline services.
Thomas Cook Airlines scored 5.6 on on-time performance, 7.6 on service quality and got a score of 2.5 on baggage handling.
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus has been the major air company of Ireland since 1936. The airline operates more than 100 routes that go to Europe and the United Kingdom and also operates flights to 14 cities in North America.
Aer Lingus has both positive and negative reviews. It scores 8.2 out of 10 on service quality and its score on on-time performance is 7. The airline has a 5.4 score on baggage handling.
EasyJet
EasyJet is a British low-cost airline and despite its cheap short-haul flights, it doesn’t score well. The thing that decreases the airline’s score is its baggage handling with a score of 2.2. The airline’s quality of service scores 7.0 and its on-time performance has a score of 6.7.
EasyJet offers flights to 132 destinations in 31 countries and it was founded in 1995. That is why it’s considered a young airline.
Eurowings
Eurowings is a German air carrier that is part of the Lufthansa group. The airline offers flights departing from Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf that go to more than 210 European destinations.
According to reviews published by former customers of the airline, Eurowings scores two out of five stars in terms of in-flight services that include food quality, seat comfort level, quality of service and total value.
The customers of Eurowings complain about experiencing frequent flight delays and having poor overall air travel experience.
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways was established in 1960 and it’s Thailand’s national carrier. The airline uses Suvarnabhumi Airport as a hub airport for the operation of its flights.
Customers of the company have complained that the airline’s staff is unfriendly and it doesn’t score very well in luggage handling. A lot of people who flew with the airline published online posts in which they say their baggage was lost or they received it with a delay.
Air Transat
Air Transat is the third largest air carrier in Canada and it operates flights to more than 60 destinations and 34 countries, most of which are located in Europe, South America and the Caribbean region.
One of the destinations to which the airline offers flights are :
- Ontario
- Alberta
- Quebec
- British Columbia
Air Transat started operating in 1987 and it’s part of an all-inclusive company. It offers mainly low-price flights, travel packages, tours and cruises.
In 2006 Air Transat acquired the bankrupt company Thomas Cook Limited. Thomas Cook’s operations in Canada were transferred to Air Transat.
Air Transat has a poor on-time performance. For those of you who don’t know what on-time record is, this is the percentage of vehicles (buses, trains, airplanes) that arrive according to schedule.
The percentage of on-time performance is an important indicator of the effectiveness of the system used by a travel services provider.
Former customers of Air Transat say that the airline’s flights featured tightly packed seats with not enough leg room. They also complain about the level of customer service which was below the required quality of the aviation industry.
Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines)
Saudi Arabian Airlines is popular with its low-cost flights but it doesn’t score very well when compared to the major airlines. It operates flights to more than 80 destinations around the world and it owns a total of 149 airplanes.
The airline’s on-time performance is 7.1 out of 10, the quality of service is 8.8 and its score for baggage handling is 4.1.
An interesting fact about Saudi Arabian Airlines is that the American president Franklin D. Roosevelt gifted an airplane to King Abdul Azis. The airplane featured twin-engine DC-3 HZ-AAX and this gave the start of the development of Saudi Arabia’s aviation industry.
Air Dolomiti
This airline is in partnership with Lufthansa and it uses the airport in Verona, Italy as a hub. Air Dolomiti was founded in 1991 and it operates a large part of the flights to Munich and Frankfurt.
This air carrier has a score of 7.3 on on-time performance and it scores 7.7 on service quality. In terms of baggage handling the airline scores 4.9.
Air Malta
As it was established in 1973 Air Malta is still considered a new and small airline. Air Malta operates flights to the Middle East, Europe and North Africa and it owns just 10 airplanes.
This air carrier has a score of 7.9 on service quality and this is in fact its highest score. Its score on on-time performance is 5.2 and 6.8 on baggage handling.
Air Malta started a partnership with Qatar Airways in February 2020. For those of you who don’t know Qatar Airways is the world’s best air carrier according to the rankings.
Finnair
Finland’s major air carrier is part of the Oneworld Alliance just like British Airways, American Airways and Qantas. Despite this fact Finnair still has poor rankings.
Finnair scores 7.5 on on-time performance, 8.0 on quality of service and 4.3 on baggage handling.
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines is one of the oldest European airlines. This airline has been in the aviation industry since 1923 and it’s the flag carrier of Czech Republic.
Although the airline has been operating flights for a long time, it ranks on the 14th place in the list of the world’s worst airlines.
Czech Airlines operates flights to 100 world destinations and has a fleet of 17 airplanes.
Customers of the air company say that the baggage guidelines of Czech Republic aren’t very clear and the flight attendant staff doesn’t offer a good service.
The airline’s on-time performance scores 6.0, its quality of service 7.7 and baggage handling 5.2.
Avianca
Avianca was established in 1919 which makes it one of the oldest air carriers in the world. It uses Eldorado International Airport in Bogota (Colombia) as a main base and it operates flights to 108 destinations in 26 countries.
Customers of Avianca mostly complain about flight delays, problems with baggage claim and quality of customer service. The airline’s score on on-time performance is 6.9, on quality of service 8.3 and on baggage handling 4.4.
Air Mauritius
Mauritius is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar’s eastern coast. It’s famous for its beautiful nature. However, its national carrier Air Mauritius Limited doesn’t have much positive reputation.
Air Mauritius was established in 1967 and since then it has been operating from its base in Air Mauritius Centre in Port Louis, Mauritius.
This airline scores 8.3 on quality of service, 7.1 on on-time performance and 3.0 on baggage claim processing.
Aegean Airlines
Aegean Airlines is Greece’s largest air carrier. The airline was founded in 1999 and it’s a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is not one of the worst air carriers as it has some decent scores but there is still room for improvement for Aegean Airlines.
Aegean Airlines was awarded the Best Regional Airline in Europe by the World Airline Awards and it received this award ten times. Despite this fact the airline isn’t listed among the good air carriers. In terms of service quality the airline got 8.7 out of 10 .
Jet 2
Jet2 (also called Jet2.com Limited) is a British low-cost airline that offers mostly scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom.
Jet2 operates flights to more than 50 destinations and it offers one of the cheapest prices for flights you can find. Jet2 was listed in Travel Advisor Travelers’ Choice Award list in 2019.
However, the airline’s scores aren’t one of the best. The airline’s score on on-time performance is 6.4, its score on quality of service is 7.4 and on baggage handling 5.5.
Tarom
Tarom is Romania’s national flag carrier and it’s also the country’s oldest air company.
Tarom owns a fleet of 25 airplanes and operates flights to more than 50 destinations in a total of 23 countries. The number of customers the airline serves is 2.4 million people each year.
Although Tarom offers really cheap flights, the airline doesn’t have good scores on customer service. Former customers of the airline complain about frequent flight cancellations and delays, poor quality of customer service as well as lack of quality concerning the communication with customers and customer help.
Tarom scores on on-time performance 7.3, on quality of service 8.0 and on baggage handling 3.9.
Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines is the second major airline in South Korea. The first is Korean Air which is the flag carrier. The airline has a lot of competitors in the Middle East and China.
Asiana Airlines has positive reviews in terms of its quality of customer service but it scores poorly on baggage handling.
Some time ago the air carrier announced that it plans to reduce its flight load in order to deal with the issues that cause flight delays and fix them. Asiana Airlines also had bad reviews about its in-flight meals but it announced it will consider fixing this issue too.
Asiana Airlines scores 6.3 on on-time performance, on quality of service 8.0 and on baggage claim processing its score is 4.9.
GOL (Intelligent Airlines)
GOL ( Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes) is a Brazilian low-cost airline and in fact it’s the first airline offering low-cost flights in Brazil.
GOL’s main base is in Rio de Janeiro and the airline is the largest in Brazil. The air carrier operates more than 700 flights per day and despite this fact, the airline has an average level of service quality and on-time performance.
In terms of quality of service GOL scores 8.1 , its score on on-time performance is 7.8 and on baggage claim processing – 3.1.
GOL is another one of these airlines that are neither worse nor excellent. The airline has both positive and negative reviews from customers. Its overall quality of services can be described as average.
Vueling Airlines
Vueling Airlines is a Spanish low-cost airline which is the second largest airline in the country after Iberia.
This airline offers flights to 131 destinations and offers super cheap flight prices. But customers give it negative reviews where they complain about frequent flight changes, cancellations, lack of organization in the service and poor communication with customers.
Vueling Airlines’ score on quality of service is 7.5, on baggage handling is 4.4 and it scores 6.1 on on-time performance.
Kuwait Airways
This air company is based in Kuwait City and it operates flights to more than 30 destinations in Europe and Asia.
Former customers of the airline complain that the air company’s staff is unfriendly and doesn’t offer help when customers need it. There are also bad reviews saying that the airline’s airplane cabins aren’t cleaned regularly.
Kuwait Airways scores 4.2 on on-time performance, 7.9 on service quality and 4.2 on baggage claim processing.
China Eastern
China Eastern uses Shanghai Airport as its hub airport and it has been operating flights since 1988. This air carrier offers flights to more than 1000 destinations in 177 countries. This may sound a lot for just a single airline but not if that airline ranks poorly.
So, China Eastern’s score on baggage claim processing is 4.0, on quality of service is 8.1 and 6.9 on on-time performance.
