Hotel review giant TripAdvisor launches a new service today in the US and UK allowing users to leave ratings for airlines featured on its flight search product.
Limited at this stage to ratings rather than full reviews, users logged in through Facebook or their own TripAdvisor account can leave a a score based on eight criteria for each airlines.
Aggregate reviews are then displayed when a user searches for a ticket on the TripAdvisor metasearch engine and clicks on the airline’s logo.
Ratings can be left for the following:
- Value
- Check-in experience
- Punctuality
- Baggage handling
- Seat comfort
- In-flight service
- In-flight amenities
- Reasonableness of fees
TripAdvisor has been collecting data over recent months before launching the full product today – at this stage only on its US and UK sites, where the flight search product currently operates.
The idea of adding ratings to the air metasearch product has been on the agenda for quite some time, with TripAdvisor Flights general manager Bryan Saltzburg suggesting in October 2009 that it would consider such a service.
Another new feature, which TripAdvisor claims is a first for flight search engines, is the addition of a “fee estimator” into search results, allowing users to see what taxes and baggage costs will be added to the final ticket price.
Fees also cover items such as in-flight entertainment and onboard meals and drinks.
I wonder how Ryanair will do?
S
@shane – hot off the press from TA:
Scores out of five…
Value 3.5
Seat comfort 3
Check-in experience 3
In-flight service 2.5
Punctuality 4
In-flight amenities 1.5
Baggage handling 2
Reasonableness of fees 2.5
Overall: 3.5
The one thing this does NOT contain and that has one of the greatest impacts on how pleasant (or not!) the flight was is “how full was the flight?” “Seat comfort” is not the same thing – you can be in a seat that is OK, but if the flight is packed, you are crammed in a middle seat and the ignorant person in front insists on having their seat reclined during the entire flight the nothing in the other criteria help much!
Feedback on a criteria of this type would help travellers distinguish between cheap but crammed flights and ones that might offer a little more comfort for a little more money.
Yes, of course this varies by route, by date, by time of day etc. – but I’m sure Tripadvisor are clever enough to factor that in!
on http://www.flightscore.com or http://www.flugbewertung.com you can already search through thousands of flight reviews with pictures from airline passengers. Good Luck to TripAdvisor.
not a new idea. http://www.airlinetest.com user can also evaluate airlines
@Sarah. Indeed it isn’t. Airline ratings been around for years.