New TripAdvisor product lets customers review airline service

Travel comparison site TripAdvisor is known throughout the world as a forum to post and read customer reviews of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions. Now, seven years after its launch, TripAdvisor is turning its attention to airlines.

Travel comparison site TripAdvisor is known throughout the world as a forum to post and read customer reviews of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions.

Now, seven years after its launch, TripAdvisor is turning its attention to airlines.

Customers can review airlines based on flight experience, see photos of seats and lounges taken by customers, and access information on flight scores.
TripAdvisor expects this to transform the way consumers research airlines, just as it changed the way consumers interacted with hotels.

More than a dozen airlines are encouraging passengers to post reviews of their experience on the site, and many carriers have already joined the TripAdvisor Management Center so they can respond to reviews.

So what can you learn about airlines from TripAdvisor reviews?

For example, visitors to the site can see that United’s flight 485 from Chicago O’Hare to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris offers passengers Wi-Fi, a power source and a TV.

“Interestingly, the airline reviews, which TripAdvisor began quietly collecting several months ago, are skewing more negatively than hotel reviews - 3.7 out of 5 versus close to 4 out of 5, respectively” says Bryan Saltzburg, General Manager of TripAdvisor’s global flights business.

The courtesy of the flight attendant is always an important part of every customer’s journey.  A Gallup study has shown that, over the last 15 years, satisfaction with flight attendants has increased from 90% (2000) to 94% (2015). 

​With greater attention on the performance of airlines due to TripAdvisor’s new service, airlines must continue to invest in the development of their employees to remain competitive.

As specialists with more than 30 years’ experience of working with international airlines, MSB is uniquely well-qualified to design and deliver airline-specific leadership development workshops, customer service training and culture change programmes.