 |
| Ryanair bottoms out for worst customer service |
A
recent airline poll conducted by Budget Airline Watch and global
flight search engine, WhichBudget, suggests
that budget airlines are appreciated by two thirds of customers for
providing good value for money but only a third think they offer good
customer service. Meanwhile, Ryanair was widely lambasted for
providing the worst service in the airline industry.
While
62% of respondents agree that “budget airlines offer good value for
money”, only 32% agree that they “offer good service”.
In
an industry characterised by added extras and hidden charges, a mere
34% of respondents think it’s easy to see the final price of a
flight when making a booking, suggesting that there’s a need for
greater transparency in airlines’ booking carts. On the back of
Easyjet’s recent move to add online seat selection to its booking
system, 54% of respondents say they like to pre-book seats ahead of
the flight. Meanwhile, a significant 72% of respondents would like to
see a free 20kg hold bag included in the price of the fare,
suggesting that a savvy budget airline could use inclusive checked
baggage as a marketing tactic.
When
it comes to the best food served in-flight (by budget and non-budget
airlines), BA and Easyjet – which has recently upgraded its Bistro
menu – were flying neck-and-neck with 25% and 24% of votes
respectively. Virgin landed in third place with 15% of votes.
As
for “best customer service”, Easyjet led the field with 33% of
votes, followed by BA with 24% and Virgin with 14%. In the category
of “worst customer service”, Ryanair had a resounding landslide
‘victory’, attracting 77% of votes.
The
survey also elicited real-life “tales
of horror from the baggage hall”,
where respondents shared their worst experiences at airport check-in.
Negative reports included: passengers being charged for 100g of
excess baggage with Ryanair; being banned from boarding a flight for
refusing to throw away their excess jumpers and jackets; being asked
to use the sizing cage while other passengers with “clearly
overweight” bags strolled past unchallenged; being told they
couldn’t redistribute weight from an overweight bag to an
underweight bag to avoid excess fees; being asked to disembark a
plane and return to the gate to check a cabin bag in the sizing cage.
Amusingly, one holidaymaker was asked if they “wouldn’t mind
leaving their hold bag behind” because the Easyjet flight was
already overloaded.
 |
| Easyjet voted best for customer service |
Meanwhile,
Ryanair was criticised for its “one bag policy”, lack of infant
baggage allowance and practice of weighing cabin bags during and
after check-in (“luggage Nazis using a hand held spring scale at
the gate”), while other airlines were castigated for their
“confusing” habit of allowing passengers to book multiple hold
bags online, although an individual passenger may only carry a total
weight of 20kg between all bags. Said one respondent: “Who would
like to pay 100 Euros for five bags each weighing 4kg?”
At
certain airports, it seems that the scales may be incorrectly
calibrated. Respondents reported various incidents of the same bag,
containing identical contents, weighing different amounts at
different airport check-in desks, with disparities of up to 5kg
showing on the scales. Meanwhile, demonstrating the arbitrary
application of baggage rules, some respondents said their bags
weren’t weighed at all.
Jo
Chipchase of Budget Airline Watch comments: “The results of the
survey highlight our overriding concern that profits gained through
baggage fees and ancillary revenues are placed way ahead of customer
service these days. It has reached the point where passengers expect
to receive lousy treatment from budget airlines and try to work
around it, as best they can. In the survey, we even had reports of
check-in staff refusing to help passengers and swearing at them! And,
all things considered, it’s hardly a big surprise that Ryanair has
won the ‘worst customer service’ category.”
Andrew
Gaule, founder of Rufus
Roo –
manufacturer of the “big pocket travel jacket”, which supported
the Budget Airline Watch / WhichBudget survey – said: “Travelling
with budget airlines is becoming more complex and costly with the
range of charges that are being imposed. Baggage charges are a key
example but passengers can plan their packing and be creative in
wearing clothing and jackets, such as the Rufus Roo, that save them
hassle and money in the baggage hall.”
Martino
Matijevic, WhichBudget’s founder said: “The fact that we received
340 valid responses to our survey in two months shows that people are
keen to express what they think of budget airlines, partly
demonstrating that low cost airlines aren’t sufficiently listening
to feedback. Unsurprisingly, today’s passengers are no longer happy
with just bargain priced flights but are seeking value for money. On
WhichBudget, we introduced the star rating next to our price
comparison results, where the rating represents overall value
passengers place on an airline.”
* The
airline poll of 340 air travellers was conducted by Budget Airline
Watch and WhichBudget during summer 2012. Respondents were asked
to rate the following statements with a score of 1-5 where 1
represents “strongly agree” and 5 “strongly disagree”.
Budget
airlines offer value for money
Budget
airlines offer good service
When
booking, it’s easy to see the final cost of a flight I like to be
offered extras as part of the booking I like to pre-book seats I
would like to see a 20kg hold bag included in the price of the fare
The
respondents were also asked to name the airline that has the best
food, best customer service and worst customer service, and to share
their “tales from the baggage hall”.
