Australian airline Jetstar has been rated the worst in the world by its travellers, who have blamed long delays and a lack of cost transparency as their biggest gripes.

One in three Jetstar passengers have reported flight delays, with the average hold-up nearing four hours.

The results were compiled by 11 consumer groups globally and included Australian consumer watchdog Choice.

They quizzed 11,000 passengers who had travelled in the past year.

The findings showed that Qantas was ranked the best of the national carries, ranking 36th, which was head of Virgin Australia in 51st and Jetstar in 73rd.

Emirates was crowned the best airline in the world.

TigerAir was not included in the sample because the number of their passengers was too small.

Customers were asked to rate the airlines on a range of criteria including staff, comfort, meals, safety and value for money. Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said Jetstar’s rock-bottom rating should be “a real wake-up call for the airline”.

A Jetstar spokeswoman said the airline was working on improving the airline experience for their customers and continued to offer passengers a low-cost travel option.