London, UK, 2012-07-25 — /travelprnews.com/ — A self-appointed critic of review sites that seeks to attract revenue by cajoling websites into paying for their accreditation, has targeted Skytrax by questioning the reliability of our user-created content – going so far as to suggest that Skytrax display fake content.
Aside from also having no knowledge or understanding about Airline and Airport Star Ranking, this self-appointed critic also took the opportunity to submit a defamatory statement in their complaints to the ASA.
Edward Plaisted of Skytrax commented: “The integrity of user-generated reviews and associated Skytrax information across our web site is a priority for us, and we have total confidence in the review integrity check processes that we operate. We have been operating this website for 13 years, during which time we have always maintained the highest standards of user review authenticity. Skytrax have neverbeen accused of posting false or defamatory reviews and all user created content featured on our websites has been read and authenticated by our own, in-house website staff. The only critique we receive applies to editing some comments, normally applied when a user submits a review too large to be published in full, or where legal and language conditions make publication impossible.”
“It is appropriate to state that from over 1400 airlines and airports featured on our websites, not one of these companies has ever complained to Skytrax about user reviews being false, defamatory or unfair. To have a self-appointed website review critic seeking to attack an established and respected user review site, appears to centre on his (or her) own direct commercial interests. Whilst Skytrax would never lay claim to being perfect, we are quite capable of maintaining and continually developing our website standards without paying for an unauthorised, self-appointed third party to review and rank our own process.”
“We have a very large, worldwide base of loyal users amongst the travelling public, airlines and airport operators, and if we failed to deliver accurate and timely information, they would not keep returning. In terms of reputation management, we would never pay another company to manage that. For over 23 years, Skytrax have adhered to a very strict code of professional conduct, whether for the consumer review website, the Airline and Airport Industry Star Ranking programme or our separate Audit Advisory projects. We do not need a company with no knowledge of the air transport industry trying to impose their commercial self-interests upon us.”
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