INDIA: Jetstar Denies It Is World’s Worst Airline

LOW-cost carrier Jetstar has hit back at claims it is the worst airline in the world and said the findings research by consumer watchdog Choice had no credibility.

Data compiled by 11 consumer groups globally including Choice was released earlier today after 11,000 passengers who travelled in the past year gave feedback and scored the performance of 73 airlines.

The findings showed Qantas was ranked as the best of the national carriers (ranking 36), ahead of rival airline Virgin Australia (51) and Jetstar came in last (73).

Jetstar has come dead last in a new survey of more than 100 airlines.

A new global study has found Jetstar to be the worst performing overall according to more than 11,000 people who took part.

But the budget airline has hit back, saying the survey lacks "veracity".

Jetstar spokesman Luke Enright criticised how the research was conducted and said it was not a fair indicator of all airlines.

He said the data size of Jetstar passengers which included more than 100 respondents of the 11,000 overall was “around half the number of people we carry on one flight and a lot less than 34 million customers who flew with us last year.”

They also called it an international survey but only surveyed people from eight countries, he said.

Emirates took the crown as the best airline in the world.

Tigerair was not included in the survey because the sample size of passengers was too small.

But Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey stood by the research and said it’s unsurprising Jetstar is disappointed in their poor performance but instead of trying to rubbish the survey, they should work on cleaning up their act.

People are sick of poor treatment, particularly when flights are delayed or cancelled.

Jetstar said they continued to do a lot of work behind the scenes on areas where we can improve, particularly on flight punctuality.

Customers rated airlines on a range of criteria including punctuality, checking in, boarding, treatment by staff, comfort on-board, meals, safety and value for money.

In comparison Australia-based airline Qantas ranked the 36th best airline in the world and Emirates came out on top.

The study was conducted by Choice, in association with watchdogs from around the world, and found more than a third of passengers who flew with Jetstar said they experienced disruptions from flight cancellation and waiting times of an average of at least four hours after scheduled departure times, the Daily Mail reported.

Jetstar only received one star out of five for overall satisfaction. The airline was rated 4.51 out of 10 for comfort and its website scored 4.81 out of 10.

Despite the findings, Jetstar say they question the results.

"There are a lot of holes in this latest survey, including leaving out our main competitor Tiger because they didn't collect enough responses, so the veracity of the report is questionable," a spokesperson said.

Air New Zealand ranked 26th in the world - well ahead of the two Australia-based airlines.

Here are the top five airlines according to the survey:

1. Emirates based out of the United Arab Emirates 8.29

2. Avianca based out of Columbia 8.17

3. Qatar Airways based out of Qatar 8.15

4. Luxair based out of Luxembourg 8.1

5. Singapore Airlines based out of Singapore 8.1