Easyjet named Europe's best low-cost airline

Easyjet has been crowned the best budget airline in Europe, beating rivals Ryanair and Norwegian.

The British low-cost carrier topped the table of Europe's most preferred cheap airlines in a poll of 16,000 travellers, with more than six in ten UK passengers (63%) backing Easyjet, based on customer service and overall flying experience.

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Ryanair was left behind with four in ten (44%) of the UK travellers' votes, while British discount airline Monarch came in third place in the UK table, with a fifth (21%) of the votes.

One traveller commented: "My favourite airline is Easyjet and I don't think they need to improve. I have been traveling with them for 18 years and never had a problem - and hardly a delay."

Another added: "Best low cost airline is Easyjet. Once you know the rules all goes smoothly."

Online travel agent eDreams.co.uk polled travellers across ten countries (UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway) and found that in addition to being voted the UK's number one low-cost airline, EasyJet was also the favoured no-frills airline across the continent, taking more than a fifth (22%) of the votes across Europe and leaving Ryanair (18%), Norwegian (12%), Vueling (8%) and EuroWings (4%) in its trail.

But not all travellers are satisfied with low-cost airlines as only 17% of UK respondents say that the prices are fair, with four in ten (42%) claiming airlines are becoming more and more costly.

Almost a third (32%) said that they find low-cost airlines as expensive as full service airlines, especially when travelling at peak times, such as the summer holidays, or when taking into consideration unexpected additional fees.