Ratings Methodology - Premium Travel Insider

The goal of Premium Travel Insider is to aggregate all of the many qualitative reviews from your favorite travel bloggers into a single site – think “Rotten Tomatoes” for travel reviews. We don’t do this to replace those bloggers – we do it to make it easier for you to research trips. We highly encourage you to read the individual reviews that are most applicable to your flight – for example, if there’s a review with the same exact route you’re about to take, you should read that review! But if you don’t see your exact flight, we help you figure out similar flights based on length and other characteristics. All of this information helps you make a more informed purchase decision – whether you’re using rewards or dollars.

The Short Version

All ratings are on a 1-3 scale. Higher is better. Scoring of experiences is based on reviewer expectation – 1 fails to meet expectations, 2 meets expectations, 3 exceeds expectations.

We do not rate paid reviews (i.e., sponsored by an Air Line, travel agency, tourism, etc.) – even if only part of the trip was complimentary (i.e., a leg was upgraded because they knew it was a review site). Thus we only use reviews or sites that pay their own way. If we cannot confirm that a review was self-funded, we will not include it. We are shocked at how many bloggers and reporters do not respond when we ask them about their reviews, and the lack of transparency some sites display.

Read on for the gory details.

How Our Aggregation Works

Our summary ratings are based on what the reviewer wrote. Some reviewers use scores – The Points Guy for example, recently moved to a scoring system that is easy to translate. On the other hand, sometimes this is an art more than a science. For example, some reviewers may only dedicate a couple of sentences to a review category. Other times, a review might say one thing in the review body, and another in the summary – self-contradicting. They might neglect to review drinks, but post a picture of the menu, allowing us to make our own call. Our focus is looking at the words used by the reviewer – did a reviewer enjoy the food? Do they state they would fly the airline again? These help us determine the scoring. However, we always encourage you to click through and read the reviews you believe are most applicable.

If you are a reviewer who believes we have mischaracterized your review, please contact us and we will work with you to ensure that your review is accurately captured. Our goal is to provide a detailed, accurate summary, and sometimes we get it wrong. If we got it wrong, we want to make it right.

Overall Rating Score (1-3, higher is better)

*Turkish Airlines food is considered quite tasty. (Credit: Turkish Airlines)*

Our overall ratings for a flight follow a three-point scale, higher being better. This rating is driven by the reviewer’s overall experience and how enthusiastic the reviewer is to fly the airline again. There is subjectivity in this – for example, flying Condor business class (which often has very good paid fares) vs. the Emirates Residence is going to have a different expectation of what a “3” should be. When selecting this rating, we rely heavily on what the reviewer said – such as “I wouldn’t hesitate to fly again” or “I would not fly this airline again” or “This was the best experience ever.” The scores are as follows:

1 – Bad, awful experience. The reviewer would absolutely not fly again.

1.5 – Generally negative experience. The reviewer felt this was not good value for the flight and did not enjoy aspects of their trip.

2 – Acceptable experience. The flight was acceptable given the cost.

2.5 – Positive experience. This was a good flight AND good value.

3 – Superb experience. This is a truly special flight.

Level of Detail (1-3, higher is better)

Not all reviews on the internet are created equally. Whether it’s a factor of the author’s written review (simply choosing to omit certain items), or their flight experience (falling asleep and not using the IFE), sometimes a reviewer doesn’t cover everything. Level of detail is scored as follows:

1 – Minimal detail. Several key categories are unreviewed, or relevant information is lacking. There are four or more categories are missing.

2 – Sufficient detail. Generally 2-3 categories are missing, although if a review missing four categories but is otherwise highly detailed, we often will score it in this category.

3 – Detailed. A highly detailed review that delves into all applicable categories and also includes many pictures. At most one category is missing.

Length of Flight

*Flying the A380 is a nice way to enjoy an ultra-long flight. (Credit: Asiana)*

The length of flight heavily influences the type of aircraft, amenities, and service. For example, it is unusual to receive bedding on a short flight, so this category would not be reviewed or penalized for lack of bedding. We used the official blocked time (if available in the review) or flight time estimators (typically prokerala.com). We use the following ratings to help you compare “apples to apples” on the flight service you may receive. We rank these categories as follows:

Short – Less than 2 hours
Medium – 2 hours, 1 minute to 6 hours.
Long – 6 hours, 1 minute to 12 hours
Ultra Long – More than 12 hours

Category Ratings (1-3, higher is better)

*Swiss Airlines first class provides a slick amenity kit*. But that’s just one of many factors for booking! (Credit: Swiss)

We rate the following categories: Seat, In Flight Entertainment (which includes both the quality of the hardware and the selection), Food, Drink, Service, Lavatory, Amenity Kit, Bedding, and WiFi. We collectively call Seat, IFE, Food, Drink, and Service the “Big 5” because they are the most impactful on your journey. Other categories can be important, but no one ever booked a first class ticket because of an amenity kit…we hope. All of these categories are scored on a 0-3 rating, which is as follows:

1 – Did not meet expectations for the class of service. Food may have been sub-par or WiFi notably poor, for example.

2 – Met expectations. The category was acceptable and appropriate for the class of service.

3 – Exceeded expectations. The category beat out expectations or was otherwise superior.

A “0” indicates the amenity was not available for the flight, most often used with WiFi. We also will include “NR” for not rated categories. b

0 Shares