How do you choose the best airline?
There are quite a few things to consider when it comes to choosing an airline. So here we've come up with a few different areas you may want to think about before you choose who to fly with on your next big adventure.
Price
A poll conducted by Skyscanner found that 37% of participants said the most important factor when choosing an airline is flight price. If you're on a budget, stick to low-cost airlines such as Easyjet or Ryanair, but bear in mind that baggage allowances can be extremely low, so sometimes it may work out more convenient to go with a more expensive airline carrier where you may get more included free.
You should also consider the length of your flight: budget airlines have less space onboard, so are fine for short haul flights, but you may want to invest in a premium airline if your flight is long haul.
Nervous flyer?
If you're an anxious flyer, put your mind at ease by researching which airlines are safest. Reputable airlines tend to be award-winning, and you can see how high (or low) they're rated by visiting airlinequality.com. Equally, you can visit airsafe.com which has a record of aviation crashes and other safety incidents. The data is able to tell you the rate of fatalities, both historic and recent (spoiler: the fatality rate is surprisingly low for most airlines!).
Onboard facilities and comfort
Most airlines offer some form of in-flight entertainment, but if travelling with young children, this may be somewhat of priority (especially if your flight is long haul!). Virgin Atlantic offer some great in-flight entertainment for kids. Look into which airline's entertainment meets your needs, and go from there.
If your flight is long-haul with no stopover, choose an airline that has spacious, comfortable seats as well as good legroom. If you're feeling super indulgent, Emirates' business class cabin has TVs with 1,800 channels, seats that turn into comfy flat beds, as well as a personal mini bar.
When it comes to technology, not many airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on every model in their fleet (Lufthansa is the only airline so far to do so), but you can find a list of those airlines that do here.
Customer Service
A survey by Qualtrics found that around 92% of people surveyed say their previous experience with an airline is important when deciding which airline to use. So, if you've had a good experience with an airline, you're likely to either fly with the same one again or look for similar qualities in another airline. You can also ask family and friends for their flight recommendations, particularly if they're frequent flyers.
If you do turn to online resources (such as Trip Advisor) to see other passengers' experience with an airline, take it with a pinch of salt, as some people may have had one bad incident on a flight, compared with someone else who's had none and flown countless times with the same airline. No airline is perfect, but be vigilant: if there are a lot of negative reviews and complaints, reconsider your choice.
