TripAdvisor may be best known for its massive collection of consumer reviews of hotels and tourist attractions, but the travel search site recently added its famous feedback feature to its less-popular flight search function. Despite the popularity of the site’s hotel reviews, however, consumer feedback on airlines appears to be remarkably less useful for would-be travelers.

You can’t actually book a flight directly through TripAdvisor, but travelers can search for available flights and get price estimates that link directly to online travel agencies. TripAdvisor sorts flight results by price as well as “best value,” a feature that claims to weigh flight times, flight duration, price and other factors. The site also gives the option of adding baggage fees to your search results and suggests nearby airports that offer lower total prices.

The overall effect of all these choices can be confusing, but there is a lot of information readily available to searchers.

Will the addition of airline ratings give consumers more power, or just add clutter to an already packed browsing experience?

Much like the way reviewers have been able to rate hotels by things like cleanliness, location and service, fliers are now able to give feedback on airline performance in eight areas:

• Baggage Handling – Do bags make it through smoothly or get lost in the shuffle?
• Check-in Experience – Is check-in a breeze or a daunting experience?
• In-Flight Amenities – Can travelers expect seatback entertainment and in-flight Wi-Fi or hours of checking their watch?
• In-Flight Service – Are flight staff friendly and attentive or rude and neglectful?
• Punctuality – Are flights often on time or routinely delayed?
• Reasonableness of Fees – Does the airline make fees clear and reasonable, or do they add a significant hidden cost to the price of a ticket?
• Seat Comfort – Can travelers expect a comfy ride, or will they need to schedule an appointment with their chiropractor?
• Value – Is the total flight cost a good value, or will it empty a traveler’s wallet?

An overall rating is given and you can filter your flight search results by rating.

Right now, the number of reviews given for an airline can range from more than 300 for a major carrier like American Airlines to as few as one for smaller outfits like Austrian and Blue1. You can see a breakdown of the average performance in each area, but detailed written reviews, like those that accompany TripAdvisor’s hotel listings, are not available.

The lack of detailed customer feedback combined with an interface that is already cluttered with marginally useful information leaves this frequent flier unimpressed with TripAdvisor’s latest development.

Do you use TripAdvisor to search for flight information? Do you think user-generated airline feedback is a step in the right direction?