British Airways matched by Virgin Atlantic for consumer perception

BA’s score was down 13 points on last year however, and both carriers had Emirates snapping at their heels, according to the assessment of consumer perceptions of airlines.

Emirates not only scored favourably across many YouGov metrics, but beat both BA and Virgin on various measures, most notably for the quality of its business and first class offerings, or equivalent.

However, while BA and Virgin Atlantic were level for general public impression, with Emirates one point behind, BA’s reputation among 18-34-year-olds was seven points ahead of Virgin and eight points ahead of Emirates.

BA also retained the highest overall brand health index (23.2), with Virgin achieving 21.9 and Emirates 20.1. The index is an aggregation of how each airline performed across six measures, including quality, value and reputation.

Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, bested Emirates to the airline passengers would most likely recommend to a friend or colleague, with Norwegian scoring well, in fourth.

“The past year has been tumultuous for the airline industry,” the report read, noting the collapse of Monarch and “reputational turbulence” affecting BA, United and Ryanair.

“Newer competitors – such as Norwegian – are threatening established airlines in both the long- and short-haul markets,” it continued.

“Others, including Jet2.com, are expanding their offering and increasing destinations, awareness, consideration, and purchase intent.

“Emirates consistently features highly across most metrics, and easyJet does well in the short-haul budget sector.”