Good news for frequent flyers who are also paranoid, fussy, kaypoh or all the above. A new website, AirlineRatings.com, was launched earlier this month and you can think of it as the aviation industry’s very own Michelin Guide and TripAdvisor rolled into one.

Billed as “the ultimate airline website listing more than 475 full service, regional and low-cost airlines across the globe”, AirlineRatings.com aims to provide ratings and reviews of these airlines in terms of its safety, in-flight products as well as the food and lounge facilities — all done by industry professionals and writers.

In addition to that, passengers can also contribute their own comments, something already seen on sites such as Airlinequality by Skytrax and edreams.com.

But as useful as it would be to know the exact legroom space and standard of food that you’ll be getting, we think it’s also nice to get a sense of the other factors that come into play — especially if you’re in cattle class.

Here’s our wish list what the self-styled inspectors of AirlineRatings.com should pay attention to.

SURF-ICE WITH A SMILE

Bad service doesn’t just begin when you’re attended to by a sourpuss crew member. Airlines should get their act together right from the start — in terms of reserving a ticket. With so many travellers making flight bookings via the Internet, it’s about time an authority recognises and rates the online experience. Some airlines have sites so infuriatingly hard to navigate that they need their own manual.

We also dread websites with a tendency to display error messages, enough to cause a mini heart attack because we don’t know if our bookings got through. There are other issues, too: Microscopic fonts, clauses hidden in some random page or stated after you’ve bought a ticket, changes made online that aren’t reflected when you check in.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

In-flight entertainment is expected of full service airlines. But not all of them are made equal. Are we able to watch the shows immediately and how recent are these shows? Is there a good range of movies available? Given that Singaporeans are movie junkies, we have to know if it’s simply blockbusters galore (yawn, watched oredi lah) or are there obscure gems that didn’t last long in the cinemas or even make it here in the first place. I remember catching little movies like the engaging The Five Year Engagement and the depressing Norwegian Wood on the same flight — a good variety of movies onboard that were perhaps better enjoyed when you can shut the world out.

Hey, perhaps the airline rating website could also provide a sample entertainment menu for prospective travellers to take a peek at. And speaking of which, pictures of the headphones and in-flight entertainment sets would be helpful, too. Imagine a long flight battling an old in-flight entertainment system with stiff buttons and grainy screens. Kill. Us. Already.

TOILET TROUBLES

Technically, the condition of the washrooms is down to the habits of passengers. But what could be assessed objectively is the toilet-to-seats ratio. According to a study done by travel blog site, The Travel Insider, the toilet-to-seat ratio of the same A380 aircraft could go from a relatively comfortable 1 toilet for every 38 seats on a European airline to a dreadful 1 toilet for every 63 seats on an Asian one. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that the higher the ratio, the increased likelihood of having to hold on and wait for washrooms — and then finding it in a gross state when it’s your turn. Eeps.

CHILDCARE FACILITIES

Flying with children can be a pain for everyone — from the poor parents to innocent neighbouring passengers. An airline that provides a child-friendly environment to keep tykes happy and quiet scores major brownie points. The usual in-flight entertainment and activity packs for older kids should be rated. But it’s just as essential to survey how airlines treat parents and the younger crowd. Are they flexible and accommodating to requests such as warming up bottles of milk? What are the different options and services available?

For example, some airlines like British Airways have a Feed Kids First policy, Etihad offers infant meals such as jars of organic food, which can be requested at the time of booking or 24 hours before departure, while Japan Airlines gives out super cute baby swag complete with a bib, a plane shaped spoon, and food tubs you can take home.

THE NOT-SO-FRIVOLOUS EXTRAS

So let’s go the whole nine yards. How about the piped-in music or the quality of the in-flight magazine? I was impressed by Spain’s Vueling airline’s music selection during boarding and taxi-ing — it’s a rotation of indie tunes from Bon Iver and Regina Spektor to Radiohead. It also has a gorgeous in-flight magazine filled with whimsical illustrations and quirky stories that’s nothing like your usual, boring mags. Some frequent flyer friends suggest airline arrival and departure punctuality although you can easily look this up on Flightstats. Others want responsiveness and speediness of crew timed and rated, especially if the service button has been pressed (repeatedly). More superficial travellers say rating the best eye candy airline crew could help ease the boredom on a flight. Hmms, what are your suggestions?