Best and worst airlines and airports for 2019 revealed: Qatar named No1 airline, Thomas Cook the worst, with Hamad getting the gong in the airport ranking and Lisbon coming bottom

  • Study ranked 72 airlines and 132 airports on punctuality and quality of service 
  • Airlines and airports faring badly include Manchester, easyJet and Ryanair
  • Airport Operators Association said 'UK airports offer a world-class service' 

The world's best and worst airlines and airports for 2019 have been named in a new study.

Qatar Airways is ranked as the number one airline for the second year running with American Airlines in second place. Thomas Cook Airlines comes bottom of the list - just below easyJet.

The top airport for the second year running, the study claims, is Hamad International Airport in Doha, followed by Tokyo International Airport. Lisbon Portela Airport has been named as the worst.

REVEALED: THE BEST AND WORST AIRLINES 2019

Best   

1. Qatar Airways

2. American Airlines

3. Aeromexico

4. SAS Scandinavian Airlines

5. Qantas

6. LATAM Airlines

7. WestJet

8. Luxair

9. Austrian Airlines

10. Emirates

Worst

63. Adria Airways

64. Aerolineas Argentinas

65. Transavia

66. Laudamotion

67. Norwegian

68. Ryanair

69. Korean Air

70. Kuwait Airways

71. EasyJet

72. Thomas Cook

Source: AirHelp. AirHelp's methodology: 'We chose the airlines based on the best known and most flown airlines - but we exclude airlines that we are unable to get data for.'

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Qatar Airways is ranked as the number one airline for the second year running in an AirHelp survey

Qatar Airways is ranked as the number one airline for the second year running in an AirHelp survey 

The top airport in the AirHelp study, which looked at 132 from around the globe, is Hamad International Airport in Doha, pictured

The top airport in the AirHelp study, which looked at 132 from around the globe, is Hamad International Airport in Doha, pictured 

The study was carried out by AirHelp, a company that assists passengers with compensation claims for delayed, cancelled or overbooked flights.

It ranked 72 airlines and 132 airports from 40,000 reviews based on on-time performance and quality of service, as well as food and drink options and how easy it is to claim a refund.

In the airlines ranking Aeromexico comes third followed by SAS (fourth) and Qantas (fifth).

The rest of the top ten is made up of LATAM Airlines (sixth), WestJet (seventh), Luxair (eighth), Austrian Airlines (ninth) and Emirates (10th).

American Airlines came second in the airline ranking, scoring highly for claims processing

American Airlines came second in the airline ranking, scoring highly for claims processing 

The worst ranked airline in the study was named as Thomas Cook Airlines, but it countered that the report 'lacks merit'

The worst ranked airline in the study was named as Thomas Cook Airlines, but it countered that the report 'lacks merit'

Easyjet fared badly in the airline ranking coming 71st out of the 72 airlines that were ranked

Easyjet fared badly in the airline ranking coming 71st out of the 72 airlines that were ranked 

The best-ranked UK-based airline is Flybe, which comes 11th, followed by Virgin Atlantic, which comes 15th. British Airways comes 23rd and Jet2 54th.

In the U.S airline league-within-a-league, the second-best ranked airline is United Airlines (16th) and Delta Air Lines is 17th.

Directly above Thomas Cook and easyJet comes Kuwait Airways (70th), Korean Air (69th) and Ryanair (68th). 

After Hamad International and Tokyo International in the airport ranking is Athens International, followed by Afonso Pena International in Brazil and Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in fifth.

Tokyo International Airport came second in the annual survey, which has been running for eight years

Tokyo International Airport came second in the annual survey, which has been running for eight years 

Coming third in the airport ranking is Athens International, pictured

Coming third in the airport ranking is Athens International, pictured 

REVEALED: BEST AND WORST AIRPORTS FOR 2019 

Best   

1. Hamad International Airport, Qatar

2. Tokyo International Airport, Japan

3. Athens International , Greece

4. Afonso Pena International Airport, Brazil

5. Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, Poland

6. Moscow Sheremetyevo International, Russia

7. Singapore Changi Airport, 

8. Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International, India

9. Tenerife North Airport, Spain

10. Campinas International , Brazil

Worst  

123. London Gatwick Airport, UK

124. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Canada

125. Porto Airport, Portugal

126. Paris Orly Airport, France

127. Manchester Airport, UK

128. Malta International Airport, Malta

129. Henri Coandă International Airport, Bucharest, Romania

130. Eindhoven Airport, Netherlands

131. Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait

132. Lisbon Portela Airport, Portugal

Source: AirHelp. AirHelp's methodology: 'We chose the airports based on the best known and most used airports - but we exclude airports that we are unable to get data for.'

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Rounding off the top ten are Moscow Sheremetyevo (sixth), Singapore Changi (seventh), Hyderabad International (eighth), Tenerife North Airport (ninth) and Viracopos/Campinas International Airport in Brazil (10th).

The highest ranked UK airport is Bristol Airport, in 70th place, with London Heathrow coming 73rd.

Birmingham Airport is 78th, London City 104th, London Stansted 109th, Edinburgh Airport 122nd and Gatwick 123rd.

Bottom-ranked in the UK is Manchester, coming 127th out of 132. Last year Manchester Airport's Terminal 3 came second from bottom in a Which? customer satisfaction study, just ahead of London Luton.

The top-rated US hub is Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International in 34th place. Highest ranking in Australia is Sydney Airport in 65th spot.

As well as Lisbon Portela, the following airports also fared badly - Kuwait International (131st), Eindhoven Airport (130th), Henri Coandă International Airport (129th) in Bucharest and Malta International Airport (128th).

The worst airport, according to the study, is Lisbon Portela Airport, pictured

The worst airport, according to the study, is Lisbon Portela Airport, pictured 

 

Here's how AirHelp has presented the information for the airline ranking

Here's how AirHelp has presented the information for the airline ranking

Henrik Zillmer, CEO and co-founder of AirHelp, said: 'The AirHelp Score 2019 must serve as a wake-up call to the UK's aviation industry, which is continually failing those that matter the most - the passengers.

'It's crystal clear that more needs to be done to adapt to ever-changing demands, whether it's airports adding and extending runways to cope with the influx, to airlines focusing on the industry-wide lack of pilots and often poor cabin-crew conditions.

'Action is needed and it is needed now to ensure passengers are not the innocent casualties of the UK's floundering aviation industry.'

 UK airports offer a world-class service to UK passengers
Airport Operators Association

A spokesperson for the Airport Operators Association said: 'UK airports offer a world-class service to UK passengers: nearly 85 per cent of people were fairly or very satisfied with their most recent travel experience and just over 80 per cent were fairly or very satisfied with their experience at airport security, according to surveys by our regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Of course, airports continuously strive to make things even better and it is good to see that nearly a third of people told the CAA they believe air travel is improving further.

'Where airports have limited control over a passenger's experience, such as their airline's on-time performance, we work closely with airlines and their contracted ground handlers to ensure that the airlines can recover delays as much as possible. Delays result from a range of factors, including bad weather such as 2018's Beast from the East, air traffic control strikes in other countries and capacity constraint in the UK's airspace. 

 

Here's how AirHelp has presented the information for the airport ranking

Here's how AirHelp has presented the information for the airport ranking

'That is why the UK Government has asked the aviation industry to deliver the modernisation of our airspace and we are working closely with Government to achieve this. Airspace modernisation will improve resilience and increase capacity to meet future travel demand while reducing aviation's environmental impacts.' 

A Thomas Cook Airlines spokeswoman said: 'This report lacks merit, and comes from a claims management company that profits from compensation that should belong to its customers. When customers come to us with flight delay claims, we pay promptly, directly and in full.'

Easyjet said: 'In 2018 more than 91 per cent of easyJet flights arrived within an hour of their scheduled time and we have a continuous focus on punctuality and customer care as we know it is important to our passengers.

'Over the course of the year, ATC capacity and staff shortages were responsible for more than 75 per cent of all delays across Europe with 30 days of air traffic control strike action impacting customers – all outside of airlines' control.

'Airhelp is a claims agency taking significant amounts of compensation from customers who could receive the entire amount by claiming with the airlines directly. We take our responsibilities under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 extremely seriously and always pay compensation when it is due.' 

Airlines UK, which represents Britain's carriers, said: 'This report is misleading and self-serving. UK airlines operate in a highly competitive market place and need to provide good customer service to attract and keep passengers. They do not need lectures from claims management companies. When things do go wrong most complaints are dealt with quickly and amicably without passengers having to fork out 25 per cent of any compensation to third parties.' 

MailOnline Travel has contacted Ryanair, Manchester Airport and Lisbon Portela Airport for comment. 

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