Carriers of Shame – worst UK airlines in 2016

Data released this week has named and shamed airlines and airports that have behaved badly in 2016.

In a nutshell

• Easyjet takes top position
• Thomas Cook is the most improved going from top of the list to fourth place
• Monarch has dropped out of the list completely

The list was compiled by collating the number of compensation enquiries made against each British airline through EUclaim.

Last year there were 9,887 compensation claims for Ryanair, a 60% increase on the 2015 figure of 6,211. Embarrassingly, Easyjet tops the list.

The trademarked orange FTSE 250 company, managed to upset such a huge number of passengers, that an impressive 15,499 compensation enquiries were made in relation to them alone. EasyJet’s performance has continued to plummet since 2014, taking them from last year’s shameful second place in the rankings, to this year’s worst offending airline. In 2016, easyJet has the dubious accolade of successfully knocking Thomas Cook off the top spot, who now find themselves in fourth position.

It’s not just about budget airlines

The UK’s largest airline, British Airways has held a steady position in the “Carriers of Shame” rankings over the last three years and 2016 has been BA’s worst year for delays and cancellations.

Tjitze Noorderhaven, UK Manager for EUclaim said:

We appreciate that weather conditions have been a major contributor to the high numbers of delays and cancellations experienced last year. However, whilst weather affects all airlines, some have been more efficient at reducing delays and cancellations. Thomas Cook for example has made great strides in improving its services.

In 2015, 9,104 compensation enquiries were made against Thomas Cook, which put them at the top of the 2015 “Carriers of Shame” list. In 2016, this number dropped by almost 2,000 making them the most improved airline. Also putting other low cost airlines to shame is Monarch, which has improved its services so much so that it has fallen out of the 2016 top “Carriers of Shame” list completely.

Bumping Monarch from the chart last year is poor performing Thomson. After a temporary leave of absence in 2015 it returned in 2016, to be named and shamed as one of Britain’s worst performing airlines.

Top 5: Carriers of Shame (2016 Results)

Mr Noorderhaven said:

It’s encouraging to see major airlines such as Thomas Cook and Monarch improving their game. If they can do it, it begs the questions why are airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair still leaving consumers high and dry. We appreciate that there are circumstances outside of the control of the airline and that in many cases it is the airports that force them to delay or cancel flights.

Norwich has proved for the second year running that they are the airport where customers are most likely to experience delays or flight cancellations. In 2016, EUclaim saw the number of delays and cancellations increase dramatically at some major international airports such as London Heathrow (30%) and Belfast Int (72%).