Agents websites more usable than airlines, says study
Travel agents have scored better than airlines in a website usability study by web experts.
According to the study by Webcredible, airline websites scored an average of 48% for usability compared with 55% for agents.
Opodo was rated the most usable online travel website scoring 67%, while British Airways led the way for airlines achieving 65%.
Ryanair and Monarch came bottom of the report because of the poor transparency of pricing.
Online usability and accessibility experts Webcredible examined the websites of 20 of the UK’s online travel agents and airline carriers.
It found that only three companies – Opodo, British Airways, and Travelbag – scored over 60% when measured against a set of specific criteria.
Many of the top internet brands scored only around 50%.
Travel agent sites, Opodo and Travelbag, were found to offer users the best online experience, scoring 67 and 62 out of a potential 100 respectively.
While airline carrier sites Monarch and Ryanair scored lowest at 38 and 40.
Webcredible director Ismail Ismail 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.
“Many of the sites also suffered with inaccessible user information. For example, with the growing number of airlines flying to new and mysterious-sounding airports many of the sites aren’t being upfront about where they are based and how users will get there. 15 out of 20 travel sites scored 0 out of 5 on this guideline.”
The report concluded that both airlines and agents are neglecting the potential of web 2.0 technology and are failing to use even the most basic sharing functions.
“While the transparency of pricing is a long standing concern of the Office of Fair Trading it’s particularly surprising that many of the sites tested have not embraced the spirit of Web 2.0, considering its growth in recent years,” said Ismail.
“Booking a holiday is often a social experience and the ability to interact and share the booking process with friends and family is essential. Given the sector’s huge growth and potential, top travel sites must leverage every advantage available to them to be more effective in this highly competitive marketplace.
“Increasing the usability of a travel website will enhance the success users have in finding and booking flights – it’s as simple as that. Better usability will also lead to a rise in loyalty and return site visitors, and an improvement in the perception of the online and offline brand.â€
Table of results.
Company Total score
Opodo 67
British Airways 65
Travelbag 62
STA Travel 58
Lastminute 56
Virgin Atlantic 55
Ebookers 54
Expedia 53
Travelocity 53
BMI 53
Flight Centre 52
Thomas Cook 49
First Choice 48
Airline Network 47
Easyjet 46
FlyBE 46
Thomsonfly 44
XL.com 44
Ryanair 40
Monarch 38
Average score 51.5
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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