Opodo trumps airline websites on usability

Thursday 27 March 2008

Flight Search Technology

A new study has named online travel agent (OTA) Opodo as the company most capable of harnessing web 2.0 potential and providing the most usable website.

Usability consultancy Webcredible measured the sites of web-based travel firms and airline carriers themselves against multiple ease of usage criteria, with Opodo's 67 per cent usability rating trumping not only airline homepages but also OTA rivals.

British Airways and Travelbag were the only other brands scoring above 60 per cent, as designated travel websites were found to be more usable than airline webpages, scoring an average 55 per cent compared with 48 per cent for carriers.

Offering flight booking facilities for more than 500 airlines, the Opodo.co.uk website has kept up to speed through passenger-friendly innovations such as offering Fare Alert emails for destinations passengers have searched for, while finding favour for its openness on pricing throughout the search process.

Ismail Ismail, Webcredible director, said: "Users need to have clear and accurate pricing displayed through-out their journey through a site. It's not acceptable to add 'hidden' charges at the very end of a transaction process – this is something which a number of airline carriers are guilty of."