British Passengers Slam British Airways for Long-Haul Economy

Joe Cortez February 28, 2025

When it comes to flying long-haul from Britain to anywhere in the world, the locals would rather fly on one of the legacy three U.S. carriers’ economy before choosing British Airways.

The Britons have spoken: Literally anything is better than flying long-haul in British Airways’ economy cabin.

In the 2025 edition of Which? Magazine’s Best Airlines survey, the United Kingdom’s flag carrier’s product ranked below American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.

British Airlines Received 62% Customer Score, Tying Only with Air Canada

The magazine solicited reviews from passengers on over 9,000 flights to determine the best and worst carriers to travel aboard around the world in the main cabin. Singapore Airlines took top honors with a customer score of 81%, but an on time rate of only 67%. Two of the Middle East Three took up the next two spots: Etihad Airways edged Emirates for second by only one percentage point. Rounding out the top five was a tie between Qantas and Virgin Atlantic.

Among the U.S. legacy carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines both received a customer score of 72%, tying them with Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. United received the edge between them: The magazine noted United had an 80% on time rate from the U.K., compared to Delta’s 70%. American Airlines was rated the fourth worst in economy, scoring a 65% customer score compared to British Airways’ 62%.

The low rank was equally matched for British Airways when it came to short-haul domestic travel. The airline received a 57% customer score from the public, only outranking TAP Portugal Air, Lufthansa, Wizz Air, and Ryanair.

“British Airways’ customer score of 62% for long-haul and 57% for short haul is very similar to the scores it’s had in previous years,” the magazine wrote about the ratings. “For short-haul, boarding, seat comfort and food and drink are all rated just two stars. BA told us that passengers are ‘seeing the benefit of our £7 billion (~$8.8 billion USD) investment program with operational performance improving by 18% over the last 12 months’. But it’s yet to match the performance of most of its rivals in our survey.”

This isn’t the first set of negative reviews for the carrier this year. FlyerTalkers panned British Airways announcement of the transition to a revamped loyalty program moving to spend-based rewards instead of those earned from distance traveled.

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