European Low Cost Airline Ratings

EasyJet - 5 stars

Germanwings 4 stars 

Ryanair 2 stars

Wizz Air 1 star

 

Online ticket purchasing – website ratings

 EASYJET - 5/5 stars

Origin: UK, London Luton Airport

Number of destinations: 134

Number of aircraft: 190

Passangers: 59.000.000

Dislikes:

• None

Likes:

• Simple page, easy to view and navigate
• Easy to search for flights and to compare prices
• No hidden charges, everything is clear and you know what you are buying, you will not get stuck with something you do not want
• Fast and efficient conformation by e-mail after purchasing tickets
• Best non-flight services offered (bus transfers, hotels, travel services, etc.)
• Unlimited baggage on the plane if you can fit the dimensions

GERMANWINGS - 4/10

Origin: Germany, Cologne

Number of destinations: 86

Number of aircraft: 34

Passangers: n/a

Dislikes:

• Destination search is not well executed – often the nonstop flights are mixed with those which are not – too confusing and not clearly displayed

Likes:

• Descent price comparisons
• Ticket purchasing is easy and fast, no additional questions or unwanted option
• The final price is very close to the advertised one

RYANAIR 2/5 stars

Origin: Ireland, Dublin International, Stansted UK

Number of destinations: 164

Number of aircraft: 305

Passangers: 80.000.000

Dislikes:

• Much too complicated with too many questions asked
• A lot of hidden costs
• The page is ‘pushy’ with unwanted extra expenses - often these extra features are mislabeled such as YES being red and NO being green, some features are automatically marked as ‘yes’ so one must unclick it which is automatically followed by ‘are you sure’ question – all of these slow down the experienced user and dupe the not so experienced into buying extra products which are not needed.
• At the end, the ticket price is higher than the advertised one
• Allowed carry-on luggage for all carriers is usually 50x45x25cm, but Rynair accepts nothing bigger than 50x40x20 cm, which seriously complicates one’s life because most of suitcases come in 50x45x25cm dimensions
• The allowable weight is only 10 kg (laptops alone will take a couple of kilos)

Likes:

• Easy to search for flights and very easy to find your destination, compare prices, choose the best option for a customer
• Trusted site, no blocking, very safe
• Relatively easy to understand and clear (except for "hidden" fees)
• The company sends you reminder notices 3 times (of course, they are also trying to give sell you extra luggage allowance, insurance, hotels, rent-a-car, etc.)

WIZZ AIR 1/5 stars

Origin: Hungary, Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport

Number of destinations: 66

Number of aircraft: 37

Passangers: 11.000.000

Dislikes:

• The site has a tendency to crash toward the end of purchasing process; refresh and restart are required
• Occluded information, with unclear questions, poor explanations or answers to questions
• There is no hotline number in case of an emergency except in those countries where it is a local call
• Notable examples where the passengers are left stranded at the airport – even for two days at the time – without explanation or additional information provided

Likes:

• Choice of destinations and competitive prices is descent

Ticket price / Network / Frequency

RYANAIR   3/5 stars

Dislikes:

• Flies to the secondary and tertiary airports which means expensive airport transfer costs to the desired destination (some airports are located more than 100 km from the advertised city, eg., Frankfurt Hanh)

Likes:

• The price is often the best of all low cost companies reviewed
• A large number of flights and frequencies

EASYJET  5/5 stars

Dislikes: None

Likes:

• In general the prices are good except for the last free seats which are often too high; sometimes even higher than full service carriers
• A large number of flights and frequencies
• Flies to major airports (a big plus, especially if you want to transfer to overseas full service carriers)

WIZZ AIR  2/5  stars

Dislikes: 

• The price is subject to change from minute to minute, often , after you spend 15 minutes booking your ticket the page will freeze, repeating the booking process will result in prices higher by 20-30%, (but if you login as a different traveler you will get the same original price) - this is a classic case of fraud
• Mainly flies to secondary airports
• Networks are relatively weak, light years from EasyJet or Ryanair

Likes:

• Generally favorable prices

GERMANWINGS    3/5 stars

Dislikes:

• High prices, in 90% of cases the prices are similar to the ones offered by full service carriers
• Even if you wish to by a ticket well in advance the price is still much higher than that of the other LCC
• Connections are possible and easier to handle than with other LC carriers but the price is still extremely high

Likes:

• Offers better service for the same price than other LCC’s
• If you happen to stumble upon a discounted price you can consider yourself lucky

Service at the airport / Ground staff / Boarding process

RYANAIR  1/5 stars

Dislikes:

• Lack of information
• Very unkind staff trying to introduce a military regime
• Print boarding pass is complicated (and expensive) if you are able to do it from home (as if everybody have an access to a printer on the go)
• Exorbitant fees for extra luggage if you decide to buy it later and not during the initial ticket purchase. God forbid you go over the limit at the check in counter, the fee for excess luggage is often more than the ticket itself
• Very poor service in the event of flight delays or cancellations – the staff will treat you like crap. If you happen to be sitting on a plane which has been delayed you will not get any beverages and the toilets are locked

Likes:

• Boarding is fast and efficient - priority is given to those who paid for it and/or families with kids

EASYJET   5/5 stars

Likes:

• Anything related to EasyJet is clearly marked at the airports
• At most airports there is an assistance and information desk
• Excellent service in case of delay or cancellation of flights – they take good care of the passengers (offer food and drinks, and information, and a timely and efficient transfer to other flights)
• Boarding is fast and efficient (Rynair copied this system from EasyJet) 

WIZZ AIR    0/5 stars

Dislikes:

• Complete mess of a service at the airports, from unclear signs, staff unfriendliness to poor problem solving
• Pray to God that something does not go right, you will not get any help

 Likes: None

GERMANWINGS  5/5 stars

Dislikes: None

 Likes:

• German precision and organization
• Clear and well-marked signs
• Almost too spartan for LCC

Cabin Comfort and Feel

RYANAIR   1/5 stars

Dislikes:

• Ultra-colorful, full of commercials, profit oriented decor
• "Fasten your seat belt” sign is turned on too often and far too long under the security pretense; it turns out they want you in your seat and not on the loo so they can sell you stuff
• Inflight Magazine is only the source of additional advertising and nothing else
• Worn-out seats
• There is no pocket in the seats – the security and emergency info is printed on the chair – which increases leg room

  Likes: None

EASYJET      5/5 stars

Dislikes: None

 Likes:

• Very comfortable and clean
• The cabin décor is enjoyable, especially since there’s no Rynair’s colorful schizophrenia,
• Advertising is present but is discreet, pleasant, and informative
• Inflight Magazine is excellent and very informative
• The staff addresses passengers in local language not only in English

WIZZ AIR   4/5 stars

Dislikes:

• Cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired

 Likes:

• Very nice interior design as well as the exterior
• Leather seats
• Inflight Magazine is excellent and informative

GERMANWINGS  3/5

Dislikes:

• Lufthansa is mentioned too many times on the plane
• A little too dark and slightly depressing

 Likes:

• Comfortable and clean
• The staff addresses passengers in local language not only in English

Meals and other services on board / Cabin crew

RYANAIR   2/5 stars

Dislikes:

• A flying store. Annoyingly persistent in trying to sell you things. My favorite pitch is for electronic cigarettes: “even though smoking is prohibited on this flight, for only £ 6.90 you can smoke wherever you want on this plane!” They offer food and beverages, lottery tickets, watches, souvenirs, phone cards, cosmetics, with the emphasis on the "this is your last chance to get a great deal"
• Incessant sternly delivery of instructions at boarding/disembarking as if herding the cattle and not people which produces unnecessary psychosis and tension: "put your bags next to each other, put your jackets on top of the bags, tuck the small bags under your seat, please fill in the middle seats first, clear the aisle, etc."

  Likes:

• Very apologetic and patient with unruly passengers
• Satisfactory selection of food and drink, prices are high but affordable
• Food is very tasty

EASYJET  4/5 stars

Dislikes:

• The food is a bit cheaper than Ryan (BLT is 4 EUR, Ryan charges 5), but the portions are much smaller and barely edible
• Relatively poor choice of food

 Likes:

• Unlike Ryanair everything is orderly and calm which results in faster seating than with Ryanair
• No annoying sales pitches, you do not feel that you in are in a flying store
• The staff is witty and funny – you will hear a lot of jokes on almost every flight – relaxing and enjoyable experience
• Captain addresses the passangers several times during the flight with a lot of details but in an obtrusive way, makes you feel as if you are on a private flight

Wizz air    0/5 stars

Dislikes: 

• Poor choice of food, synthetic, and tasteless
• The cabin crew is by far the worst aspect of this company, very rude, are not multilingual, ignore you for a prolonged periods of time, stay in their quarters (on one flight the male flight attendant was so openly hitting on his female colleague to the voiced annoyance by the passengers in the first rows) behave as if you are a burden and not the customers who pay their salaries

 Likes: None

GERMANWINGS   4/5

Dislikes: None

Likes:

• Pleasant staff, genuinely wants to help, the German organization and professionalism,
• Jovial and helpful. Genuinely interested in assisting passengers