AirHelp reveals the best and worst airlines of 2024

• The best airline overall is Brussels Airways with last year’s best airline Qatar Airways in second place

• British Airways is the most improved UK airline climbing 49 places compared to 2023

• Virgin Atlantic once again is the best UK airline

3 December 2024 - AirHelp, the world's largest air passenger rights organisation, has today released the 2024 AirHelp Score for airlines.

The Score enables passengers to see, through the data, what treatment they can expect from airlines, with AirHelp being uniquely placed with one of the most accurate databases in the world for flight data. In this year’s analysis, 109 of the world’s leading airlines were ranked for their punctuality, customer opinion, and claim processing, based on data collected between 1st January and 31st October 2024. 36 more airlines are featured in this year’s score compared to 2023.

Revealing the best and worst airlines

Brussels Airways has taken the number one spot in the AirHelp Score for 2024 with an overall score of 8.12 with a high score of 8.7 for claim processing. Qatar Airways which claimed first place last year is second in this year’s ranking with a score of 8.11, the airline ranked particularly high for customer opinion with a score of 8.9. US airlines take the third and fourth spots with United Airlines and American Airlines both scoring 8.04.

Tunisair repeated its 2023 performance this year, once again ranking the worst airline with a score of 3.63. Tunisair performed badly in the area of claim processing with a score of just 0.2. Buzz wasn’t far behind with an overall score of 4.45 and an even lower claim processing score of 0.1. Nouvelair was the third worst airline with a score of 4.48 and an equally low claim processing score of 0.1.

Virgin Atlantic once again is leading the way for UK Airlines

In 2024, Virgin Atlantic ranked the best out of UK airlines in position 30, with a score of 6.94 and a high customer opinion score of 8.8. British Airways takes 33rd, a significant improvement from its 82nd ranking in 2023. British Airways received a high customer opinion score of 8.3, however, it still has a low claim processing score of 5.9. EasyJet ranks 82nd taking British Airways’ place from last year with a score of 5.32. This fall can be attributed to easyJet having a low claim processing score of 2.0. Overall, the UK’s airlines didn’t fare well overall with no airlines making the top 30, although British Airways’ improvement this year is notable.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, concludes: “The 2024 AirHelp Score for airlines is designed to act as a snapshot of airline performance, evaluating each airline's strengths and areas for improvement. There is always scope for airlines to improve in the rankings each year, using the score to help guide them. At AirHelp, we support passengers in understanding their air travel rights and help them receive the compensation they may be entitled to. ”