Google Flights is a service from Google that automatically aggregates flight fares from multiple airlines and booking agencies, and as of today, it has touched down downunder. The service is simple and can be accessed in a couple of ways, including simply searching for the flight you want (e.g. “Brisbane to San Francisco”) or visiting google.com.au/flights
Along with the standard flight comparisons you get from other services such as Skyscanner, Google Flights also lets you plan a lucky dip style trip with the ability to either select a broad travel region or a specific place with no fixed dates and find the most affordable flights. You can also save a “trip” to be notified of changes in flight pricing.
Of course, using Google Flights, may increase the chance of you seeing adverts based on your trip locations, but I’d actually prefer useful ads for my planned trips than more adverts for fidget spinners I’ll never buy.
At the moment Google Flights is a standalone experience, and not connected with Google’s accommodation booking service integrated into Google Maps. I would be interested in feeding an itinerary into Google and having a service walking me through the options for flights, accommodations and cross reference that with search/ booking results fro trips, tours, experiences and other travel things.
I just booked two trips to New Zealand and Bali, and it would have been great to have been able to use this service, perhaps next time. The service is live right now on both mobile and the web from inside Australia, so happy searching wishful travellers.
If you have gmail, google already know where and when you’re going…
I am a bit confused by what has been “launched” as have been using Google Flights for a few years. It is super helpful with tracking prices for specific flights and getting an alert to a price change , for any sale that might have started or a price rise for some reason if you’ve missed the boat. The only change that i can sort of see is maybe AUD prices being reported. Often i will still go through main airline site to ensure i get the specifics i want e.g. checked bags etc (when the service kicks me off… Read more »
This looks really neat! Beautifully simple interface. I absolutely hate the planning side of a trip so any way to make this process easier is a big win.
I don’t know if they’ve been beta testing the Australian carriers for a while or not, but I used flights months ago to plan my last trip to Melbourne ?