Google Flights: what it is and how to use the online flight platform

finding cheap flights o Google Flights is currently one of the best tools on the internet to locate cheap flights. Although when it was launched 10 years ago it could not compete with the large online flight and travel search engines, today we can say that not only its services equal those of the famous Kayak, Skyscanner or Expedia, but in many ways it far exceeds them.

Google's aspirations are clear: they want to make their tool the best flight search engine on the market. For many it already is. The truth is that they have the functions and the raw material (access to data) to achieve their objective.

For the user the benefits are enormous. To find the flight searched at the best price Google Flights makes available to us numerous filters and it gives us the possibility to book directly in almost all the world's airlines through its website.

Advantages of Google Flights

The list of advantages of Google Flights is similar to that of any other flight search engine, although with some peculiarities. They are basically these:

• • Allows us compare round trip dates, offering us the option of search by flexible dates and filters by airline and destination.
  • Offers the option of  set custom alerts when the price of a ticket is below the maximum threshold established by the user.
  • Compare flight prices to the same destination from nearby airports, and even make simultaneous searches from multiple airports.
  • For a more comfortable use, Google Flights integrates into the search engine as one more tool (see image below), as long as we have accessed our device with our Google account.
  • By default, and to make things easier for us, set the default the closest airport to our location. Obviously, this can be modified if necessary.

Despite its many advantages, it is fair to point out the odd drawback when we talk about Google Flights. The most important is the delay o small delay in updating prices. This means that sometimes a price is displayed and when the ticket is purchased, it is surprisingly different. Usually more expensive. However, these are errors that we will only find on rare occasions.

How to use Google Flights

Once we are convinced that we are using the best flight search engine there is, let's see how it works:

Starting screen

When we start Google Flights, the main screen appears immediately with the corresponding spaces in which to enter dates and destination. There is nothing in particular in this aspect, it is exactly the same as in any other search engine.

The options to select on this initial page, in addition to those mentioned in the previous paragraph, are the type of trip (one way or round trip), currency of payment, number of passengers (detailing how many children and babies) and type of ticket .

We must highlight the bar on the left where other related options are shown that may be interesting when we plan our trips: hotels, vacation rentals or the tab "to do", where all kinds of suggestions and recommendations about places or activities in our destination are shown.

Calendar

A more comfortable option to select the travel dates is to click on them to open the calendar. This will be displayed showing the dates marked. The price that appears under each of the days refers to the round trip cost of the flights in that specific time frame.

At the bottom of the calendar there are arrows to broaden the search or adjust it to new dates, comparing the different prices available. There is also a great tool to compare prices by dates: the price chart, where the information is shown to us in a more visual and simple way than in a conventional calendar.

The same can be said for the tool price table (on these lines). In each box the total round trip price corresponding to each combination of dates is offered.

Available flights

Once the desired dates and destination have been chosen, click on "Search". The process is incredibly fast, much faster than with other search engines. In less than a second, Google Flights will show us all the options, a long and complete list of flights ordered from lowest to highest price. First the one out. A series of data is displayed such as the name of the airline, the duration of the flight, if it is direct or with stopovers, etc. When we choose ours, a new list will appear, this time for return flights.

The search engine first highlights a series of recommended flights. Below these suggestions there is an information bar that offers us an assessment of whether the prices we see are more expensive or cheaper than usual.

At the top right there are arrows to sort the results based on different criteria: price, duration, arrival and departure times and (for environmentally conscious travelers), the CO2 emissions figure.

Search filters

On the same results page, a bar is shown with a series of filters that we can apply to better refine search to our preferences and needs.

These filters are very useful, since they cover notable aspects of our trip: by airlines, by amount of luggage, by flight duration, etc. All of this is more important than meets the eye. For example, there are numerous baggage policies depending on the airline, so knowing this information is essential for the traveler.

Confirmation and purchase of tickets

The last step, after deciding which flights we want, is confirmation. After pressing "to select", the platform redirects us to the airline's website to complete the purchase process, making the payment through it.

But if we are not yet determined to finalize the purchase of the tickets or we want to continue searching, we can also choose the option of «Follow prices», that appears at the top left. In this way, we will receive updates on any changes that occur in the price of the tickets that we have followed up.

Tricks to better use Google Flights

In addition to its search power, superior to that of other search engines, Google Flights is distinguished by a series of features and functions that considerably facilitate the work of searching and finding the best flights. Beyond the filters and tools that we have presented, it is also worth knowing some Tricks and tips practical. Take note of these five:

1. Look at the "green days." Days when flights are cheaper than usual are colored green by Google Flights. In addition to this, the platform provides us with other types of notices, such as pop-up windows, to inform us of the "bargains". If we browse its pages from time to time and pay attention, we can find some interesting bargains.
2. Use the Explore function. If we are not entirely sure about our travel destination, or if we want to visit a country or continent and we do not know which is the best airport, the Explore function of Google Flights can be a great help. We simply enter indicative dates, budget, number of passengers and an indicative destination and we hope that the search engine will do the work for us.
3. Assign alerts. We pointed it out at the beginning of the post, when listing advantages of Google Flights. These alerts allow us to track prices in detail. Thus, we will receive notifications when there are changes to the flight that we have monitored or for the dates on which we want to fly.
4. Enter the page in incognito mode. Why? Sometimes the precise of the tickets offered by the airlines are more or less expensive depending on the location from which the search is made. It is possible that using incognito mode the results will be the same. In any case, it is interesting to do so so as not to miss any opportunity.
5. Be flexible. More than a trick, this is a wise piece of advice that is useful to almost all flight seekers. On many occasions, changing the roundtrip dates 1 or 2 days apart can lead to great savings.

Conclusion

After analyzing the operation of Google Flights, it can be affirmed without fear of mistake that it is the best and most reliable online flight search engine.

Obviously, there are many other alternatives worth mentioning, such as Skyscanner, Kayak or eDreams, to name some of the best known. However, their promise to offer us the best prices is not always kept. This does not happen with the Google flight search engine. And that is why it has become the favorite website of many travelers.