A recent poll conducted by online travel giants TripAdvisor shows that Virgin Atlantic is the most loved airline in Europe. The survey took into account the opinions of 2,868 respondents across Europe as well as information about flying habits. British Airways came in as Europe’s second most loved airline. Least adored was Ireland’s no frills carrier Ryanair.

The recent strikes by British Airways cabin crew have done little to endear the airline to those customers who were affected. However, the survey showed that of those affected, 34 per cent would choose to fly with BA in the future. Thirty per cent claimed that they would not use BA again and 32 per cent sat on the fence.

Third place in the survey went to Singapore Airlines, Emirates took fourth place and Thompson Airways came in fifth. As well as asking about people’s favourite airlines, the survey asked about how customers booked their flights. The results are unlikely to please high street travel agencies.

It was revealed that 85 per cent of those buying airline tickets would do so over the internet through an online travel agent or directly from the airline’s website. When it came to passengers attitudes to the new controversial full body scanners which are currently being rolled out to airports across Europe, it looks like attitudes are softening. A poll conducted by a national newspaper at the beginning of the year showed that only 62 per cent of Britons were happy with the measure. According to TripAdvisor, that number has risen to 80 percent.