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Budget airlines: which is the best – and what about the worst?

After Jet2 topped a Which? poll, we ask UK travel experts for their views and take a close look at the rules and extras

So which budget airlines offer the best customer experience, and which ones will have you muttering “never again” as you stagger out of the airport?

There is of course no one-size-fits-all answer – there are so many variables at play, from cost, customer service and the number of cancellations to legroom and luggage policy. Each airline has its own (often byzantine) rules, paid-for extras and small-print fees to navigate.

However, to try to come up with some answers, Guardian Money took a deep dive into the recent findings of a detailed survey of short-haul airlines by the consumer body Which?, and also asked travel experts for their views.

The Which? survey findings

The consumer organisation quizzed more than 8,000 travellers about their experiences of flying in the past two years, with passengers invited to rate their carriers across a range of criteria.

Jet2.com – which flies from 10 UK airports to more than 65 destinations – came out top with an overall customer score of 80%. It was one of only two short-haul carriers – the other being the airline Norwegian, which scored 74% – to achieve “recommended provider” status.

Propping up the bottom of the table were Wizz Air (customer score: 48%) and Ryanair (52%). British Airways was fourth from bottom with 56%, while easyJet and Tui Airways scored 59%.

What do travel experts say?

We asked four people who really know about this stuff for their views, including on which airline they think offers the best experience.

Paul Charles , the chief executive of the travel consultancy the PC Agency and a former director at Virgin Atlantic, told us: “I still think easyJet have one of the best products available for the price. It often gives the feel of being on a full-service airline but obviously without the frills … The crew are well trained at customer service in my view.”

Is it worth paying extra for the extras? “It depends on the airline and the destination,” Charles says. “If you’re on a four-hour flight to Athens, it’s worth paying extra for more legroom. If you’re only on a 90-minute flight, or have a small bag, then just pay the basic fare.”

He adds: “I travel a lot and am finding that passengers are bringing on board more and more luggage rather than checking it into the hold. People are paying for the ease of having their small bags with them at all times rather than risk luggage being mislaid behind the scenes. I think that’s wise as it means you can get off the plane and out of the airport as quickly as possible, which is a good thing!”

Chelsea Dickenson , who runs the website Cheap Holiday Expert , says that of the main three – Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air – she likes the “laissez-faire” attitude of Ryanair and Wizz Air, “since I’m often travelling with a bag that’s ever so slightly too big! Whereas I find easyJet is a bit more ‘on it’.”

That said, she adds: “If I was really pressed, I would have to opt for easyJet . This is in large part thanks to the fact that they don’t deliberately split up travellers booking together who have skipped the option to pay for a seat.”

Dickenson says her followers on Instagram agreed, too. “With over 3,000 responses on a recent poll I posted, 77% said that easyJet had the best customer service, followed by Ryanair at 15% and Wizz Air at a mere 9%. However, by adding Tui and Jet2 into the mix, easyJet slipped down to third place after Jet2 – who stormed ahead – followed by Tui.”

Oli Townsend , a deals expert at MoneySavingExpert.com , points out that with Ryanair, “if you don’t pay for a seat, you will almost certainly be split up, as it ‘randomly’ allocates seats for those who don’t cough up for guaranteed seats. Not paying for a Ryanair seat also means you can only check in for free 24 hours before departure – for comparison, easyJet is 30 days. It also means many will have to check in for their flight home while overseas.”

He adds: “Never leave checking in until you’re at the airport as Ryanair will charge you £55 a person for each journey for airport check-in … Some other airlines do it, too, such as Wizz Air, which charges £36.50 per person per flight for airport check-in, while easyJet is one that doesn’t charge extra for this.”

Rory Boland , the editor of Which? Travel , says Jet2.com “distinguished itself as the pick of the pack, with passengers not only praising its excellent customer service and value for money but also rating the boarding experience and cabin cleanliness highly. Proof that it is possible to have great customer service at a good price.”

He says passengers planning to take luggage should always price up the total cost of their ticket rather than just the headline fare. “You may find airlines with more generous free baggage allowance, like Jet2 and British Airways, work out cheaper than Ryanair and easyJet once you have added on the cost of a bag or two.”

Boland reckons that paying for priority boarding or to make seat selections “will usually be a waste of money for most people. In the past, our research has found that as long as you check in early, you’ll usually be seated together. The only exception to this rule is if you’re flying with Ryanair.”

This is a big deal for a lot of people. The Which? survey includes details on each airline’s “seat pitch”: the distance between two rows in standard economy.

Wizz Air is one of the least generous on this front, with a seat pitch of 28in (71.12cm), although to be fair, at Jet2, the range is between 28in and 31in, so you may not fare much better on one of its flights. Some may be surprised to learn that, at 30in, Ryanair is very slightly more generous than easyJet (29in). Flying BA will often give you more legroom: its seat pitch figure is 29in to 34in. At Tui Airways, it is 28in to 34in.

Seats with more legroom are often available, although you will usually have to pay extra. For example, Ryanair’s extra legroom seats cost from £14 upwards. These are located in rows one, two, 16 and 17 and typically boast 40 inches of legroom.

EasyJet charges a fee for customers to choose their seats. A seat in the first row with extra legroom starts at £12.99. For an extra legroom seat towards the front or over the wing, it’s “from £7.99”.

At Wizz Air, if you buy the Wizz Plus bundle, this includes free seat selection, including front row and extra legroom seats.

Bags and luggage

Many of the airlines offer a bewildering array of options. At Ryanair, passengers can bring one small bag – up to 40cm x 20cm x 25cm (15.7in x 7.8in x 9.8in) – on board free of charge, and it must fit under the seat in front. Priority boarding, which also allows travellers to skip the main queue, allows customers to bring a second cabin bag (up to 10kg and 55cm x 40cm x 20cm) and costs between £6 and £35.99.

In terms of Ryanair, Which? advises people to “do your maths first before booking to see if better rivals, like Jet2, which includes a much larger free luggage allowance, are cheaper for your trip”.

Jet2 lets you carry on board one piece of hand luggage for free, as long as it weighs no more than 10kg and is a maximum of 56cm x 45cm x 25cm.

At easyJet, passengers can bring a small cabin bag (45cm x 36cm x 20cm) on board for free, which must fit under the seat in front, while the price for a large cabin bag (maximum 56cm x 45cm x 25cm) starts at £5.99. It is worth knowing that booking an extra legroom seat also gets you a large cabin bag plus speedy boarding.

Like Ryanair, Wizz Air lets people bring on board one carry-on bag for free, although the maximum size is slightly bigger: 40cm x 30cm x 20cm.

Norwegian has three ticket levels – LowFare, LowFare+ and Flex – each of which comes with its own baggage allowance. Everyone can bring one under-seat bag – up to 30cm x 20cm x 38cm – to be stored under the seat in front.

If you are just booking a Tui Airways flight you can carry one piece of hand luggage of up to 10kg for free. It can be up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm in size and can go into the overhead storage compartments.

Customer service and complaints

Which? says that this year, with strikes and staff shortages, “it pays to pay attention to those airlines that look after customers when something goes wrong”.

Jet2 was one of only two airlines out of more than 20 (the other was Finnair) that received the full five stars for customer service. This rated the quality of the service provided by on-ground and onboard staff. Meanwhile, Wizz Air was the only one that was given only two stars. Ryanair, easyJet, BA and Tui received three stars.

A look at last-minute cancellation rates (within 24 hours of departure) suggests Ryanair is a fair bit more reliable than easyJet. At Ryanair the rate was 0.5% – a lot lower than easyJet’s 1.3%. BA lost a lot of marks for this – its last-minute cancellation rate was put at 2.3%. By contrast, at Tui Airways, Jet2 and Norwegian, the figure was 0.3%, 0.5% and 0.6% respectively.

• Budget travel
• Consumer affairs
• Airline industry
• British Airways

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Whether you want travel insurance to cover your trip with Jet2, or need insurance for your other adventures, Jet2Insurance gives you protection against the unexpected if things don’t go to plan on holiday. Our policies include cover if you need to cancel your trip, seek medical help abroad, or if your passport goes missing. Take the stress out of your travel plans and make sure your trip is memorable for all the right reasons.

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We know you’re looking for extra peace of mind these days, which is why our travel insurance now includes some cover for COVID-19. You’re covered if you’re contacted by NHS Test and Trace and need to self-isolate, or if you become ill with COVID-19 before you travel or while you’re away.

Here’s how Jet2Insurance can help you if your trip is affected by COVID-19:

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Off the Unbeaten Track Edward Adrian-Vallance's travel site

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View when driving from Yelisovo airport to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

The first myth I want to disprove is that getting to Kamchatka is extremely costly. It’s not. Going between February and April, a return flight from Moscow can be had for 11,000 roubles (US$380 / £220). Not bad for 18 hours total flying time. In summer the flights are more expensive but still, if you book them a few months in advance, can be got for 16,000 roubles return.

It’s true, many people will tell you that March and April are the worst months to visit because the snow is starting to melt and everything’s a bit sloshy and dirty in settlements. On the other hand, these are great months for the independent traveller! During winter zimniki (temporary winter roads made of compacted snow or simply frozen river surfaces) open up all over Kamchatka, granting access to communities that in summer are totally isolated. Hitch hiking is possible right from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the very north of the peninsula. Alternatively, vehicles can be hired in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from tour firms. Also in the winter or early spring months places can be reached that are away even from the zimniki, either by snowmobile or by the use of cross country skis. For example, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Eurasia’s largest active volcano, can be accessed from the village of Klyuchi without the need even for a guide by a traveller with a pair of cross country skis. Bears do not wake up until mid-April so this is not a danger, but bears almost never attack anyone anyway.

The main disadvantages of winter travel in Kamchatka are that it is cold, there is no greenery and there are no bears, which some people come here especially to see.

The second myth I’d like to dispel is that travel around the peninsula requires hiring a helicopter. As mentioned above, in winter you can get almost anywhere by hitch hiking. I even hitched a lift with bear hunters on snowmobiles from their village to a reindeer herder encampment 100km away. In summer snowmobiles are replaced by horses, and transport is reduced from long distance ice-road journeys to irregular inter-settlement all-terrain vehicle trips. Hitch hiking is possible on these all-terrain vehicles though.

Throughout the year there are fairly expensive public helicopter flights to all settlements which are nevertheless much cheaper than hiring your own helicopter. There is also one permanent, year-round dirt road leading halfway up the peninsula. Some distance after the town of Milkovo, about 350km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky , it forks. The right fork leads to Klyuchi , site of Eurasia’s largest active volcano, and further to the port town of Ust-Kamchatsk. The left fork leads to the indigenous Even villages of Anavgay and Esso. Daily buses go from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Klyuchi , Anavgay and Esso, costing about 1000 roubles each way. In winter a zimnik passable by lorries heads north from Anavgay 36 hours to the otherwise isolated town of Palana. From Palana more zimniki head further north to yet more isolated settlements. From the peninsula’s very northernmost settlements there are even EXTREMELY irregular snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle connections with Magadan Oblast and Chukotka. Another zimnik, only passable by all-terrain vehicle, heads from Anavgay to the village of Ust-Khayryuzovo on Kamchatka’s west coast.

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Trans-Siberian Railway Prices

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Home » Prices and Trans-Siberian Tickets » Trans-Siberian Railway Prices

Ticket prices for the Trans-Siberian Railway also depend on the current ruble exchange rate.

Is the Trans-Siberian Railway expensive?

Before starting on your Trans-Siberian Railway adventure you naturally want to know what the entire trip will cost. Although this sounds like a simple question, it is pretty difficult to answer. The Trans-Siberian Railway price of travel depends on the following factors:

• Which travel class do I want to use? The price for a first class ticket is about three times the price of a 3rd class ticket
• Am I willing to buy the tickets myself and assume responsibility for the organisation of the trip?
• How many stopovers do I want to make? The more breaks, the higher the total price.
• What sort of accommodation do I want? Will it be a luxury hotel or will a hostel dormitory be sufficient?
• What tours and excursions would I like to go on?
• What is the current exchange rate for rubles?

Basically, everything from a luxury to a budget holiday is available. If you buy yourself a 3rd Class nonstop ticket at the counter, a few hundred Euros will cover the price. All you will experience is a week on the Trans-Siberian train and will see nothing of the cities on the way. There is, however, any amount of room for upward expansion. Everyone makes different choices about which aspects they are willing to spend money on. I personally prefer to save money on accommodation and railcar class, visit as many cities and do as many trips as possible. To enable better classification of your travel expenses I have contrasted two typical traveler types. In the third column you can calculate the total cost of your own journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Please keep in mind that these are only rough estimations and not exact prices.

The all-in costs seem fairly high at first. However, they cover everything and it is quite a long journey taking four weeks. Many people forget to consider that when looking at the list. We should also deduct the running costs for food and leisure at home. I think most visitors to this page will classify themselves somewhere between the two categories, that is around the € 2,000 – € 2,500 range. When comparing these prices with other travel packages, you get the impression that it is hardly worthwhile travelling individually on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Please keep in mind that most packages last no more than 14 days and you are herded like cattle through the most beautiful locations.

If you spend less time on the Trans-Siberian Railway you will, of course, pay less. I chose this particular travel length because I prefer not to do things by halves. If you fulfill your dream of travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, enjoy it and don’t rush things. But it’s up to you, of course. Try playing around with the form a bit to find the appropriate price for your trip.

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Bournemouth airport set for 2025 fares war as Jet2 moves in

B ournemouth airport is set to become the location for intense competition between airlines. Jet2 has announced the Dorset airport will become its 12th UK base from next spring.

Jet2 will deploy two aircraft on a range of Mediterranean and Atlantic island routes.

The inaugural flight from Bournemouth to Tenerife on 1 April 2025, will be followed by 15 other new links – almost all of which are already flown by other carriers, Tui and Ryanair . It signals intensified competition against Tui – which Jet2 Holidays overtook in terms of package passengers last year .

The only two Jet2 routes with no competition are Fuerteventura in Spain ’s Canary Islands and Funchal, Madeira.

On four of the routes – Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Palma and Tenerife – the new arrival will compete with both Ryanair and Tui.

Other Jet2 links are up against Tui competition:

• Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey
• Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes and Zante in Greece
• Ibiza and Menorca in Spain’s Balearic islands

In addition, Jet2 will take on Ryanair to Alicante and Faro.

Jet2’s chief executive, Steve Heapy, said: “We know that customers and independent travel agents have been asking us for a long time to make this move, so we are absolutely delighted to be announcing today that Bournemouth airport will become our 12th UK base airport.

“As Which? Travel Brand of the Year, we know that our award-winning flights and holidays will be enormously popular across the region, and we cannot wait to show everyone what we are all about.”

“This latest expansion is a further demonstration of our confidence, and it reflects our long-term strategy to be the UK’s leading and best leisure travel business. We know that customers want to be properly looked after throughout their holiday experience.”

Bournemouth airport handled fewer than one million passengers last year, placing it 18th in the table for UK gateways. Manchester airport, a big Jet2 base, handles 30 times as many travellers.

Andrew Bell, chief executive of Regional and City Airports, which owns Bournemouth airport, said: “It will create new employment locally, add 16 fabulous new destinations from Bournemouth, up to 27 extra flights a week and will see an estimated additional 300,000 passengers using their local airport.

“This exciting partnership with Jet2 and Jet2holidays represents a step-change in establishing Bournemouth airport as a nationally significant regional hub for passenger air operations.”

The aviation schedule analyst, Sean Moulton, said: “Following Jet2’s expansion into London Stansted in 2017 and Bristol in 2021, the south has been a growing market for Jet2.

“Whilst Bournemouth will be the smallest of Jet2’s 12 bases, it will go head to head with Tui on several routes. Just two of the 16 routes being exclusive to Jet2 at Bournemouth demonstrates Jet2’s desire to compete head to head with Tui and to a certain extent Ryanair.

“If successful, this could lead to several smaller bases being opened up across the UK.”

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