Budget airlines are outscoring charter and scheduled operators when it comes to satisfying passengers, according to a Consumers' Association survey.

But the proportion of members rating no-frills airlines as offering good value for money has dropped compared to two years ago.

Some of the biggest charter airlines did particularly poorly in the survey, which included data from almost 20,000 of the association's magazine members who had taken a flight since September 1, 2001.

On average, fewer than 20 per cent would definitely recommend charter airlines to a friend, compared with 40 per cent who would definitely recommend scheduled carriers and almost 50 per cent who did so for no-frills airlines.

Of budget airlines, Go (56 per cent) easyJet (54 per cent), Buzz (54 per cent) and bmibaby (50 per cent) were all definitely recommended by half, or more than half, of those surveyed, with only Ryanair (37 per cent) and Flybe (35 per cent) dipping below the 50 per cent mark.

Top airline in the recommendation stakes was Bournemouth-based short-haul carrier Palmair, with 85 per cent definitely recommending it.

Singapore Airlines (80 per cent) and Emirates (77 per cent), also made it into the top division of the recommendation tables.

Virgin Atlantic, with 56 per cent definitely recommending it, was among carriers in the second division, while bmi british midland (41 per cent) and British Airways (36 per cent) were in the third division.

Tuesday March 11 2003