The Scottish airline rated the second best short-haul carrier in UK

Ryanair and British Airways given lowest scores

Scottish airline Loganair has been rated the second best short-haul carrier in the latest annual assessment by consumer watchdogs Which?

The Glasgow-based firm was beaten only by Jet2 among 16 airlines, with Ryanair, Wizz and Lufthansa at the bottom of the table and British Airways (BA) fifth lowest.

One of Loganair’s new fleet of aircraft | Loganair

Singapore Airlines was judged best long-haul carrier, followed by Etihad and then Emirates, which flies from Glasgow and Edinburgh. BA and Air Canada were rated equal worst.

Loganair, the UK’s largest regional airline, moved up from fifth place last year, albeit with an unchanged 72 per cent overall rating.

The Which? survey in November and December came just over six months after its incoming chief executive Luke Farajallah announced a drive to improve performance following disruption caused by fleet changes.

The airline scored a maximum five stars for customer service, and four stars for booking, boarding and cleanliness, but only two stars for value for money.

Jet2, which has a large European network from Edinburgh and Glasgow, took top place for the fourth year. It was given an 80 per cent score, with five stars for customer service and four stars for booking, cleanliness and value for money.

Scandinavian airline SAS was third, followed by Norwegian. EasyJet, Scotland’s biggest airline, was mid-table with a 61 per cent rating and just two or three stars in each category.

Ryanair, the biggest airline at Edinburgh Airport, scored just 49 per cent and was the only one to receive one star ratings - for boarding, seat comfort, food and drink.

Lisa Ferguson/The Scotsman

Among long-haul carriers, Singapore scored 81 per cent, with four and five stars in most categories, followed by Etihad with 78 per cent and Emirates with 77 per cent. BA was given 62 per cent, with only its booking process given as many as four stars.

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “British Airways' poor performance in our survey shows how far it has fallen from the days when it was seen as setting the standards others should aspire to.

“The top performers show it is possible to give passengers good service at a time when delays, cancellations and terrible customer service have become almost the norm.”

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The research involved nearly 8,000 passengers on more than 9,000 flights.

Loganair chief executive Luke Farajallah said: “We are renowned for our gold standard customer service, so it is very encouraging to be given a five-star rating by our customers.

“We are also very proud of the improved scoring in our operation delivery, which our team have had a particular focus on over the last 12 months.

“Our pricing model is based on fairness and simplicity. There are no hidden costs and we offer up to 21kg of checked luggage and a drink and a snack as part of our service.

“Being ranked as the second highest performing airline operating in the UK is a credit to our hard-working staff who deliver exceptional service daily.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “This year, we will carry 200 million passengers, all of whom [like us] ignore these fake Which? surveys.”

A spokesperson for BA said: “This research from Which? is entirely at odds with comments from the hundreds of thousands of customers who we know do travel with British Airways and then tell us about their experience.

“Their feedback tells us customers are seeing the benefit of our £7 billion investment programme, with operational performance improving by 18 per cent over the last 12 months.”