Flightright, the digital platform advocating for consumer rights, has published its updated airline reliability index for 2025. Europe’s 20 largest airlines were evaluated based on criteria such as delay rates, compensation payment behaviour, customer satisfaction, and overall reliability. The report highlighted striking differences in quality between carriers.
Worst Performers: Finnair, Vueling, and Ryanair
According to Flightright’s data, Finnair ranked at the bottom of the index with only 2.48 stars out of 5. Scoring just 1.5 stars in delays and cancellations, Finnair showed serious reliability issues, although it received 3 stars for compensation processes, placing it in the middle tier. Vueling and Ryanair fared even worse in compensation performance, scoring just 2 stars.
Commenting on the findings, Flightright expert Feyza Türkön said:
“It’s no longer valid to assume that low-cost carriers always perform worse. Even an airline like Finnair, positioned as a premium carrier, is on par with budget airlines like Ryanair and Vueling. This clearly shows that ticket price alone does not determine quality.”
Top of the List: Discover Airlines, Eurowings, and Iberia
Discover Airlines topped the 2025 index with a score of 3.33 stars. It particularly stood out with a perfect 5-star rating in compensation payment speed, offering passengers fast and direct support.
Eurowings (3.32 stars) and Iberia (3.25 stars) also ranked highly. Iberia drew attention with 4.5 stars in the delay and cancellation category, highlighting its strong reliability.
Compensation Remains a Weak Spot
Another key takeaway from the report was the generally poor performance of airlines in handling compensation. Turkish Airlines, Vueling, and Ryanair each received only 2 stars in this category. Lufthansa and British Airways ranked in the middle tier with 3 stars.
Flightright’s Türkön issued a warning regarding compensation handling:
“Although there have been slight improvements compared to last year, passengers are still forced to wait months for the compensation they’re entitled to. We cannot speak of genuine reliability under these conditions.”
