AUSTRALIA'S national carrier Qantas has been voted worst international airline in a consumer survey.

The survey of 4,000 subscribers to consumer magazine Choice also found Qantas' low-cost subsidiary Jetstar to be the worst domestic airline.

Singapore Airlines was voted top international airline while minnow Regional Express was the favoured domestic operator.

Choice asked subscribers to rate airlines for value for money, booking processes, convenience, the check-in procedure, inflight service, including food and entertainment, as well as seat comfort, legroom and cleanliness.

Qantas scored 63 per cent compared to Singapore Airline's 78 per cent.

On the domestic front, Qantas fared little better with a 67 per cent rating, with consumers labelling the service "arrogant and aloof", while Jetstar scored just 62 per cent.

One respondent described Jetstar staff as "uniformly surly, unhelpful and most definitely unwelcoming".

Regional Express won a survey-high rating of 79 per cent followed by Virgin Blue with 71 per cent.

"Virgin Blue staff attempt to make what is a reasonably unpleasant experience flying with a no-frills service, light-hearted and enjoyable," one respondent said.

One possible reason Qantas may have fared so poorly is that people may be more critical of their national carrier, the magazine suggested.

Travellers said they continued to fly with Qantas to earn frequent flyer points even though they rated the airline significantly lower than average.

The survey of 4000 subscribers to consumer magazine Choice also found Qantas' domestic service was outshone by all rivals except its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar.

Qantas has cited a larger, international poll as proof its customers are satisfied.

The national carrier would not comment directly today on its poor marks in the Choice survey, preferring to draw attention to better showings in specialist airline polls.

"Qantas has been named one of the world's top airlines in the Skytrax world airline awards for the last two years," a Qantas spokesman said.

"Skytrax surveys more than 13 million travellers each year and Qantas was ranked second in both 2005 and 2006.

"The Qantas Group flies more than 34 million passengers a year and our customer satisfaction ratings have never been higher."

Choice asked its subscribers to rate airlines for value for money, booking processes, convenience, the check-in procedure, in-flight service (including food and entertainment), seat comfort, legroom and cleanliness.

Subscribers voted Singapore Airlines top international airline and small airline Regional Express the favoured domestic operator.

Qantas scored 63 per cent, compared to Singapore Airlines' 78 per cent.

On the domestic front, Qantas fared little better, with a 67 per cent rating. Consumers labelled its service "arrogant and aloof".

Jetstar scored just 62 per cent, with one respondent describing Jetstar staff as "uniformly surly, unhelpful and most definitely unwelcoming".

Regional Express won the survey's top rating of 79 per cent, followed by Virgin Blue with 71 per cent.

"Virgin Blue staff attempt to make what is a reasonably unpleasant experience flying with a no-frills service light-hearted and enjoyable," one respondent said.

One reason Qantas may have fared so poorly in the survey was that people might be more critical of their national carrier, the magazine suggested.

Some travellers said they continued to fly with Qantas to earn frequent flyer points, even though they rated the airline significantly lower than average.