Major carriers serving UK airports — routes, fleet, baggage, and on-time performance. Compare eight of the airlines you're most likely to fly on from the UK.
Tap any card for the full guide — routes, baggage, check-in and traveller reviews.
The headline numbers you'll want before booking — fleet, routes, hand baggage policy and passenger review score.
| Airline | Main UK hub | Fleet | Routes | Carry-on free? | Review score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways | Heathrow T5 | ~250 | 200+ | Yes — 1 cabin + 1 personal | 7.8 / 10 |
| easyJet | Luton, Gatwick | ~340 | 1,000+ | Small only (45×36×20cm) | 7.4 / 10 |
| Ryanair | London Stansted | ~600 | 3,600+ | Small only (40×25×20cm) | 6.5 / 10 |
| Jet2.com | Leeds Bradford, Manchester | ~130 | 70+ | Yes — 10kg included | 8.6 / 10 |
| TUI Airways | Gatwick, Manchester, BHX | ~60 | 90+ | Yes — 10kg cabin bag | 7.2 / 10 |
| Virgin Atlantic | Heathrow T3 | ~45 | 30+ | Yes — 10kg + personal | 8.2 / 10 |
| Wizz Air | Luton | ~220 | 800+ | Small only (40×30×20cm) | 6.8 / 10 |
| Norwegian | Gatwick | ~85 | 280+ | Yes — 10kg cabin bag | 7.5 / 10 |
We combine on-time performance (25%), baggage policy generosity (15%), passenger reviews aggregated across Trustpilot, Skytrax and AirlineRatings (25%), fleet age and safety record (15%), and customer-service responsiveness measured by refund and complaint resolution times (20%). Scores are refreshed quarterly. Full-service and low-cost carriers are scored within their own tier so you're comparing like-for-like — a Ryanair 6.5 is not the same benchmark as a BA 7.8. We never take money from airlines to change a score.
The questions we get asked most often about UK airlines.
By passenger numbers, Ryanair carries the most UK passengers even though it's Irish — it moves around 50 million people through UK airports each year from its Stansted, Manchester and other UK bases. British Airways is the largest UK-flag carrier by fleet and long-haul reach, and easyJet is the biggest UK-headquartered carrier by passenger volume.
Jet2 consistently tops UK punctuality rankings, landing around 88–92% of flights on time. British Airways sits around 78–82% on short-haul. easyJet typically runs at 75–80%. Ryanair swings between 80–85%. TUI tends to 75–80%. Wizz Air and Norwegian are at the lower end, often in the low 70s. Figures drop significantly in summer peak and during air-traffic-control disruption.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2, TUI and Norwegian all include a proper 10kg cabin bag free on standard fares. easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air only include a small under-seat bag (roughly 40×30×20cm) — anything larger is a paid extra, and prices can exceed the flight itself if you add it at the gate.
Yes. All flights departing UK airports and flights arriving in the UK on a UK/EU airline are covered by UK261 (the post-Brexit mirror of EU261). For delays of 3+ hours or cancellations within 14 days of departure that are the airline's fault, compensation ranges from £220 to £520 per passenger depending on distance. See our full passenger rights guide.
Full-service (BA, Virgin Atlantic) include baggage, seat selection, food and drink on most fares, and offer multiple cabin classes including Business and First. Low-cost carriers (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz) strip everything back to the seat and sell extras à la carte. Leisure airlines (Jet2, TUI) sit between the two — typically economy-only but with generous baggage, focused on holiday routes, and often bundled with package holidays.