Independent reviews site TripAdvisor has attempted to broaden its product for the Australian market with today’s launch of its flight search engine in Australia.
The site, known for its hotel listings, booking facilities and reviews, will now offer similar features for those wishing to fly, according to TripAdvisor’s senior manager of flights Andrew Wong.
“It will make it easier for travellers who are looking for economy flights, but are willing to pay more for direct flights, better airlines and timings,” Wong said.
Although agents have access to the same fares via global distribution systems, Wong is hopeful that the site’s metasearch features could make it a useful trade tool.
Flight information is sourced from Expedia, Zuji, Jetabroad and BYOJet along with domestic and regional low cost carriers. Rail content will also be available, generated by Rail Europe, providing customers with an alternative to air travel.
The results can then be sorted in a number of ways according to the number of stops or the length of journey. SeatGuru maps have also been added showing the location of each seat on each aircraft.
Meanwhile, ancillaries are tackled by the Fee Estimator feature, allowing customers to access and compare fully inclusiveprices based on their requirements.
Each airline is also rated with passengers able to mark carriers according to certain aspects of the flight such as punctuality, service and facilities. Airlines are then ranked according to their score, marked with either a thumbs up or thumbs down icon.
No text is included in the flight reviews, unlike its hotel reviews, because airlines are subject to “complexities” such as codeshare agreements which the travelling public often don’t fully understand, Wong explained.
“We are collecting text about airlines, but we are not using it on the site just yet,” he added, predicting full reviews would be included in future.
