THE best budget airlines in the world have been revealed – with several popular Brit options landing in the top 20.
Low cost airlines aren’t always the best or most comfortable way to travel, but their affordable routes to popular holiday destinations often make them the best option to cut costs on getaways.
According to the Skytrax World Airline Awards, the best of the carriers frequently serving the UK is Ryanair, who claimed 10th spot in the overall budget airline rankings.
Although based in Ireland, Ryanair serves a multitude of airports in the UK, as well as others across Europe and further afield.
And it finished higher than all the other airlines that Brits commonly fly with in this year’s list.
Which may seem surprising, given its lukewarm 3/5 score on TripAdvisor, with the majority of passengers rating it 1/5 or “terrible” on the site.
One recent review reads: “The seats are uncomfortable and the food is atrocious, I always dread flying Ryanair and feel uncomfortable after the flight.”
Another person wrote: “Will never use this penny pinching company again. Would urge others to consider this when booking later flights.”
A third added: “Should be called rip off air not Ryanair.
So many hidden costs.”
However, it didn’t beat its British competitors by a huge amount, with other popular airlines easyJet and Jet2 hot on its heels.
In fact, easyJet finished just one place behind Ryanair in 11th, and was also named the best UK budget airline, because of Ryanair technically being an Irish carrier.
Just two places behind easyJet was Jet2, in 13th place, putting all three firmly in the top 15 budget airlines in the world.
There were one or two other airlines that Brits can fly with this summer on the list as well, including Eurowings, who finished in 14th place.
The German budget carrier flies to several UK airports, including London Heathrow, Newcastle, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Jersey, Manchester and Newquay.
Elsewhere, there’s Spanish airline, Iberia Express, who flies to London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh.
It came ninth in the top rankings, with its cheap flights to Spain popular with Brits.
We’ve rounded up how much hand luggage you can take on UK airlines when booking their most basic fare.
Ryanair
One personal bag measuring no more than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
EasyJet
One personal bag measuring no larger than 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Jet2
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm weighing up to 10kg
TUI
One personal item that its underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm weighing up to 10kg
British Airways
One personal bag no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm 25cm weighing up to 23kg
Virgin Atlantic
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm weighing up to 10kg
It wasn’t the only budget Spanish carrier serving the UK, nor was it the highest rated.
Vueling links the UK to its favourite holiday destination, with flights from London Gatwick, Heathrow, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
It was ranked seventh in the overall ratings, and third highest in Europe, making it one of the top ranked carriers serving the UK.
The rankings are created from the results of a public survey, with passengers ultimately in charge of putting forward who they think are the best airlines.
The customers then rank their satisfaction on a 1 to 5 scale, for several aspects of the travel experience, across both the airport and onboard environments.
This includes things like boarding assistance, service friendliness, meal service efficiency and cabin presence throughout flights, among others.
It is the world’s largest annual airline satisfaction survey, which some label the “Oscars of the airline world” according to Fortune.
The overall best airline in the world was given to Qatar Airways, with British Airways ranked 13th.
The best low-cost airlines in the world for 2024 are:
Meanwhile, this airline, formerly the best in the world, has launched new flights from a UK airport.
And this new affordable airline is launching transatlantic flights next year.
