Google Flights doesn’t sell tickets. It’s a search site but not an online travel agency. It is making a splash in the industry by giving shoppers loads of information about flights in easy-to-use ways.
So far, Google hasn’t promoted it. You can find it at google.com/flights or by running a Google search for a trip, such as “flight from Boston to Cleveland on April 15.”
When you do find it, you’ll see it doesn’t look or run like other search sites. Put in your cities and dates and it automatically lists options. Google Flights shows what it calls cheapest, fastest and best itineraries. Using data from Routehappy, which provides data on airline amenities, Google Flights shows which flights have Wi-Fi, on-demand video and other amenities, what the average legroom is for the coach cabin on each plane and whether the flight has a bad track record of delays greater than 30 minutes.
With Google’s mapping technology, a Google Flights search shows the lowest price at alternative airports on a map, so you can tell exactly how far Manchester, England, is from London, for example. The calendar for picking travel dates shows prices on each day, and clicking on the map shows a handy bar chart of prices so you can easily compare dates.
Like Kayak, Google can pair flights from different airlines into a single round-trip itinerary—an advantage over just shopping airline websites.
Google lacks many direct links to booking tickets. In some cases Google Flights offers the very 1990s advice of calling the airline to book, and builds in the typical $25 telephone booking fee.
Sometimes it gives just plain bad booking advice. It finds trips on multiple airlines that are competitors instead of partners, but those often have to be booked by online travel agencies, not airlines. For a trip departing on American and returning on Delta, Google Flights linked to American’s website for booking. When you go there, you’re greeted by red letters saying, “Check below for errors.”
Another glitch: With some airlines—JetBlue, for example—Google Flights can send you to the generic home page after a search without inputting your itinerary. Then you have to re-enter your dates and times again for the flights you wanted.
Many consumers believe smart shoppers need to clear the cache and cookies in their own computers—elements merchants store so they recognize you when you return and tailor advertising and offers to your interests. The fear is that if airlines and travel sites know you go to Cleveland regularly on Friday afternoons, they may only show you higher fares to Cleveland for Friday afternoon flights.
Experts say there’s no evidence of that. There have been some instances of hotel pricing being tailored to particular customers, but not with airlines. Airline websites guarantee they have the airline’s lowest prices, and it’s cheaper for airlines if consumers book directly with them rather than through third parties. If they discriminated against customers in pricing, smart shoppers would find cheaper fares on other airlines, says David Tossell, vice president of travel and hospitality at DataArt Inc., a technology consulting firm, and a former Travelocity manager.
“There is a point where people become price-sensitive,” he says.
Best advice for consumers now: Shop several search sites, such as Kayak, Google, Hipmunk or Skyscanner. They are strong and reliable, but have different features. See which ones you like best. Hipmunk shows options in useful time bars so you can easily schedule. Skyscanner lets you easily shop inventory available in other countries where airlines may be running specials.
Once you find what you want, book directly at the airline. Booking on the airline website gives you the best shot at accurate information about what you get—or don’t get—with that fare, plus add-on fees or buying potential upgrades. You also stand a better chance of getting your Known Traveler number to TSA PreCheck if you’re enrolled.