Aussies vote Qantas worst airline, prefer Air NZ
1:15PM Tuesday May 29, 2007
Source: Choice magazine
Qantas has been voted the worst international airline in an Australian consumer survey.
Singapore Airlines was voted top international airline, with Air New Zealand in third place behind Emirates.
The survey of 4000 subscribers to consumer magazine choice also found Qantas's low-cost subsidiary Jetstar to be the worst domestic airline.
Choice asked subscribers to rate airlines for value for money, booking processes, convenience, the check-in procedure, inflight service, including food and entertainment, as well as seat comfort, leg room and cleanliness.
Qantas scored 63 per cent compared to Singapore Airlines's 78 per cent.
On the domestic front, Qantas fared little better with a 67 per cent rating, with consumers labelling the service "arrogant and aloof", while Jetstar scored just 62 per cent.
One respondent described Jetstar staff as "uniformly surly, unhelpful and most definitely unwelcoming".
Minnow Regional Express was the favoured Australian domestic operator. It won a survey-high rating of 79 per cent followed by Virgin Blue with 71 per cent.
"Virgin Blue staff attempt to make what is a reasonably unpleasant experience flying with a no-frills service, light-hearted and enjoyable," one respondent said.
One possible reason Qantas may have fared so poorly is that people may be more critical of their national carrier, the magazine suggested.
Travellers said they continued to fly with Qantas to earn frequent flyer points even though they rated the airline significantly lower than average.
- AAP