When I pulled up the calendar to select my dates, all of the prices were revealed for alternative dates. For example, I priced a return flight from Pittsburgh to Tokyo (TYO, more on that in the next section) in Business Class. For some trips, there is limited flexibility or difference (like the Pittsburgh to Fort Lauderdale example) but for other destinations, it can be dramatic. When searching from the primary screen users can instantly see the prices for alternative dates. One of my favorite features of Google Flights is shopping via the calendar function. In this case, it includes direct flights to Miami though, oddly, it doesn’t show any options for West Palm Beach, a short distance from Fort Lauderdale. You’ll also notice that it shows alternative airports for the same general area. This will let those who don’t usually shop for this route where they have a flight deal or whether it is unusually expensive. Spirit leads the way at $73 roundtrip (though you can likely get this down to around $40 roundtrip by buying it directly at the airport.) However, instead of showing the later flight well into the evening at the same price, Google Flights has placed other direct flights in order of lowest price to highest price as the other options.Īnother key feature, since the company tracks flight prices, is that little box that shows whether these prices are higher than normal or lower than normal flight prices. In this example you can see that flights for this sample trip are prioritized first by direct flights, then departure time, then cost. For example, if there are two fares from Pittsburgh to Fort Lauderdale that are the same (matched) price of $198, the shorter trip (connecting through Atlanta instead of through Denver) will show up first. To start your Google Flights search go here: (I use it so often to shop that it’s on my frequently visited pages and bookmarked itself.) For a simple search for known departure and arrival points on committed travel dates, enter in the information for your trip.Ī number of flight options will appear ordered by price and transit time. This allows the site to display the best search results for the cheapest flights without handling the booking in-house. Still today, however, Google Flights is not a true Online Travel Agent (OTA.) They do not ticket the flights for most carriers but rather send travelers to those airlines to book directly with the airline. They know, as travel agents do, that if a user books a flight they are more likely to also book the hotel with your service and have built a business around that. Google doesn’t make much from the sale of airfare, but rather from hotels. This technology made ITA Matrix a darling of the frequent flyer community and that technology is still at work in Google Flights but in a simplified format. It once boasted more than three million route options from Boston to Los Angeles because it would pull every option including flying crazy routes like Boston-Frankfurt-Seoul-Los Angeles. Years ago, Google purchased ITA Matrix which held a feed from every major carrier and all possible flight connections.
Google Flights has the best flight search technology at its core. If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support. Over the last few years, Google Flights has evolved from a simple search engine to the industry standard. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone. The content on this page is not provided by any companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities. For our complete advertising policy, click here. We value your time and money and will not waste it. My dear readers, some links on this site pay us referral fees for sending business and sales.
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