The budget carrier received a customer service score of just 48%, with Wizz racking up numerous customer service complaints. Travellers gave the airline a one star out of five rating for boarding experience, cabin environment and seat comfort.
It also failed to score any higher than two stars across any of the 10 categories assessed by Which?. In its defence, Wizz said it did "everything possible" to ensure passengers "reach their destination on time and with minimal delay".
"We invest heavily into time performance, which is key to our ultra-efficient business model," said a
spokesperson.
However, according to Civil Aviation Authority data, Wizz ranked second worst of all UK short-haul airlines for punctuality last year (October 2021 to September 2022) with an on-time performance – proportion of flights arriving into the UK within 15 minutes of time due – record of just 56%.
The Wizz spokesperson continued: "A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022. These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports.
"We are committed to constantly reviewing processes to mitigate these issues and are seeing an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes."
By contrast, four of the 24 short-haul airlines surveyed achieved on-time performance that exceeded 80%, while another 11 achieved scores in the 70% range.
Jet2.com topped the overall list with a customer score of 80%, followed by Turkish Airlines (78%), Finnair (75%), Swiss (75%) and Aurigny (74%). Sitting above Wizz at the foot of the table are Ryanair (52%), Eurowings (53%), British Airways (56%) and Lufthansa (57%).
It follows a turbulent year for Wizz, which saw the airline branded "clearly the worst" by the CAA for having complaints escalated to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes or the CAA’s own in-house complaints team.
The airline also pulled out of Doncaster Sheffield airport, and earlier this year, Cardiff airport too. "Wizz Air has expanded rapidly in recent years, but its growth has not come without disruption and uncertainty for passengers, with routes frequently paused or shelved altogether," said Which?.
More: Gee Wizz! How and why Wizz Air’s ambitions outweigh its UK PR problem
Jet2.com and Norwegian Air, by contrast, were award Which? Recommended Provider status, with Turkish Airlines and Finnair missing out despite their strong customer scores owing to having T&Cs allowing the to cancel passengers’ return journeys if they miss their outbound flight through no fault of their own.
Which? said coming out of the pandemic, amid widely documented staffing and resourcing impacts on aviation, "some airlines have become emboldened to treat passengers badly, with an absence of adequate customer service a common theme of this year’s survey".
Which? carried out its survey in October 2022, surveying 8,046 adults about their experience of flying over the past two years (October 2020 to October 2022).
’Torrid time’
“Travellers have had a torrid time in recent years, with last-minute delays and cancellations an unacceptably common occurrence," said Which? Travel editor Rory Boland.
"While airlines like Jet2.com have distinguished themselves by offering flyers excellent customer care and a reliable service, too many of their competitors continually fail to measure up.
"If alternative carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air, as its poor record on customer care means you’re likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled."
