There are hundreds of different flight search and comparison sites, but lately, Google Flights has been stepping up to the mark. Previously, Google Flights was something I only used to check the distance and length of flights, it was a quick way to get generic route information, but for the last year or so, I’ve been booking all of my flights through Google’s flight search engine.
It can be a great place to score a bargain flight, but if you make any wrong moves, you’ll send the price skyrocketing. So in this article you’ll find travel hacks that will help you find flights for the best possible price, but first, let’s take a look at why Google Flights should be your first port of call when booking your travel.
Why Use Google Flights?
Everyone’s been singing Google Flights’ praises lately, but are they right for doing so? Having used Google Flights to book over 20 trips worth of plane journeys, I can honestly say, I agree with every single compliment about Google’s travel booker.
Even though I was impressed with Google’s flight search, I wasn’t sure exactly what made it so much better than the other flight comparison sites I previously used, like Cheapflights, Skyscanner and Kayak. I mean, it’s not as if Google have ever advertised the flight section of their search engine, and it’s not as if it’s particularly targeted at budget travellers – so I wanted to know why it was a cut above the rest.
So I did some digging into other peoples’ experiences and the technology behind it, and put together this list of why Google Flights is so popular, and why it’s potentially one of the best places to book your flights online.
It’s super fast
Some flight search sites can take ages to load all the possible flight options. To give them credit, there are thousands of flights out there, and thousands of different companies offering different flight prices, so it’s no wonder scanning them all can take a few minutes.
But somehow, Google Flights is much faster than other sites. Within just a couple of seconds, you’ll have the best option right in front of you, and you can easily see the time of departure and landing, the operating airline, the length of the flight and the company to book through.
There are some sites that even after several moments of waiting for the results, you still have to click through for more information, but almost as fast as lightning, Google will have loaded not only the best deal, but all the information you could need about not just that flight, but all the other, more expensive options too.
It scans most airlines
We’ve all been to travel agencies, consultants and websites that state that they don’t search all possible airlines and companies. And the second you hear this you know one thing: they’re not going to include the budget airlines.
But Google Flights loads both budget and high-end airlines, so you can make sure you’re getting the best deal. You’re not going to miss out on any bargains.
It uses ITA Matrix Software
Hardcore travel hackers will know that ITA Matrix Software is THE place to look for flight prices and the LoonieOnlineCasinos.com is the place to play in online casino games. It’s the software that all the best travel agencies and websites use to find the best possible deals. It can search each airline individually in microseconds, making it the ultimate software for travel agents.
Well-known budget flight booking sites like Kayak use this software, but so does Google Flights. So it really is using the best software in the industry.
If you’re wondering why you can’t just use ITA Matrix directly, it’s because you can’t actually book through the software. The software can just show prices of different airlines, and it’s then up to you to find those prices by looking directly on airline websites. Google Flights offers the best of both worlds: the intelligent budget-friendly prices that ITA Matrix detects, and a link to the site you can book through. So there’s no searching for the deal, instead you’re taken straight there.
It’s ad-free
Ever gone to book a flight and accidentally clicked on an ad that’s taken you away from your booking page? It’s happened to the best of us. But even if it is a common issue, it doesn’t make it any less annoying.
Part of the reason Google Flights is such a dream to use is the fact that’s it’s completely ad-free.
There are no ads popping up and ruining your user experience, instead it’s just a smooth interface with no distractions.
Calendar search encourages flexibility
A lot of flight search sites have the option to tick a box that says +/- a few days, so that it can find the cheapest flight across a number of days. But Google Flights takes it to the next level with it’s calendar search option.
Of course other sites also give you the option to select your dates by using a calendar, but what makes Google Flights so special is the fact that when you bring up the calendar, you can see the dates of the individual days.
You can see prices not just for a couple of days either side of your chosen date, but for months either side.
This feature means you can be completely flexible with your dates, and easily pick a date that has the best price, rather than refreshing search results every time you want to try out a new date.
It’s completely mobile-friendly
Booking flights on your mobile can often be more of a hassle than it’s worth. You’d think that in this new age of technology, where most people are on there phones every waking hour of the day, that all businesses would make their sites mobile responsive, but that’s not always the case.
And when you’re booking flights, you want to see information quickly and clearly, without having to zoom out and in and scroll left and right.
Google Flights has got it right in that it’s perfectly responsive, and just as easy to use on your phone as it is on your PC or laptop.
The only thing to bear in mind is that once you’ve chosen your flight, you’ll obviously be directed to a different company’s booking page, which might not be as easy to use.
You can get quick flight status updates from Google
Rather than navigating your way to an airline or airport webpage to check your flight’s status, you can save a whole lot of time and get information about your flight straight through Google.
All you need to do is type your flight number into Google and you’ll get information about your flight instantly.
How To Find Cheap Flights Using Google Flights
So Google Flights is the search console to use, but just like any flight search engine, if you make the wrong moves, you’ll end up paying more than you should. So here are some travel hacks to help you find the cheapest flights on Google Flights.
Until you’re ready to book, don’t click on your actual dates
When you click on a date, you’ll be shown prices for that date, but if you then click off and return to that date later, you can bet money on the fact that the prices will have gone up.
Because of ‘demand’, flight search engines (including Google Flights) and airlines will increase prices on certain dates once someone has shown interest in them.
So if you’re just browsing to get an idea of how much a flight is going to cost you, don’t click on your actual date.
Don’t worry though, you can still check the price of your intended flight date without clicking on it. You just need to use Google’s calendar search.
To make the most of this feature, without affecting the price of your flights, search for flights to your destination on a random date (one you don’t plan on flying on). Once it’s loaded prices for that date, click on the calendar, and scroll through the days and months, looking (but not clicking on!) the date you actually plan on traveling on.
This way, you’ll get an idea of prices on your date, but you won’t increase the price by clicking on it.
Look out for price trends for your destination
When you search for flights regularly using the calendar search, you might notice a few different price trends. It’s important to keep an eye out for these, and make a mental note of them.
For example, when I was searching for flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh airport, I started checking the prices and the trends months before I planned on booking. By doing this, I quickly realised that last minute flights (flights that departed in less than 2 weeks), were much cheaper, sometimes half the price. So I held off booking until 2 weeks before I planned on flying, and then booked, and sure enough, I scored a much better deal than if I’d booked in advance.
You might find that for other destinations, it’s the complete opposite, in that last-minute flights are much more expensive, but if you find this to be the case, just make sure you book in advance.
Search in a private browser
You might know this one already, but it’s always worth mentioning: always book flights in a private browser! If you’re using Chrome for example, use an incognito window.
Often when you go to book flights, the prices you see will be based on the cookies in your browser. This means that flight search engines will recognise that you’ve previously looked at flights to your destination, and will show you a higher price, based again on ‘demand’.
Private browsers delete your cookies, so you’ll be searching from a clean slate.
Search multi-city flights for better deals
Sometimes flights with layovers can be cheaper, and they mean you get to explore another destination as well. But they don’t always show up when you search for a simple flight from one destination to another.
If there’s a city en-route to your destination, or a city that makes sense to layover in that you’d like to explore, even if only for a day or two, use Google Flights’ multi-city search option. This way you can also break up your flight a bit.
Just search for flights going from your city, to a half-way city, and then onto your destination. It might work out cheaper, and make long haul flights more bearable. But even if not, you haven’t lost anything by looking.
Double check for better prices with budget airlines
Whilst Google Flights is better than a lot of flight comparison sites when it comes to searching a wide range of airlines, including budget airlines, there will sometimes be times when it doesn’t search ALL the possible budget options.
So before you book, do a quick search on a budget airline in your area, just to check there are no better offers.
I live in the UK, in the country’s most uneventful city, where the most interesting story in the local paper is about banning dressing gowns in supermarkets.
I travel and I write, because surely there are more interesting stories than that to write about and share.