I like Google Flights so much that I also built a Chrome extension[1] to improve the interface (hiding the third-party affiliate links, putting seat data in the top-level of the results, and making business class searches easier).
[1] https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/skysavvy-enhance-go...
I too mostly use Google flights.
Your extension looks neat. Thanks for sharing - will give it a try.
(Would love a Firefox version!)
Any chance of making a version for Firefox?
> visit the site twice and they bump up the price
This is a myth, at least for flights. Flight prices normally go up the closer to the date. They almost never go down as you get closer to the date. So there will be many cases where you visit a site at one time and see one price, then if you visit it at a later time, your expectation should be that the price has increased. But the price would have gone up anyway. Also, airlines do use # of tickets already sold to set prices, and so you should expect that as time moves forward, it is likely someone had the same idea of going from city A to city B as you on that same date, and they bought their ticket.
It's the same kind of myth as "I was talking about this thing with my friend and then later saw a targeted ad for it, so they must be listening to my microphone." No, they know you're interested in that product or that there is increased demand for that flight from data collected elsewhere.
My usual workflow is to pick the flights on Google Flights and then click the button at the end that takes me to the airline's page to book. What's the downside of that?
I've also noticed Google Flights prices being outdated sometimes.
Kiwi/Kayak has that feature.
But Google Flights is so very quick and easy to use, I almost always use it. It's pretty easy to estimate baggage fees (usually the fare that includes baggage is around +£120 more)
For booking, matrix ita is great too. It's owned by google and then kayak/skyscanner etc to check out route ideas
https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search
The results will show the raw codes, eg. ticket class, fare construction & other airline codes.
Use the result you like to book with an agent, or https://bookwithmatrix.com
For power users, you can force specific fare classes/connections/combinations etc. regular sites won't. You can create some zany things for example, getting United to sell you an American connection. Ticketing it may require an actual travel agent though.
Generally if you book direct it is much less hassle especially if you end up needing to make any changes to your booking. Booking via another party means they control the ticket and this makes flight changes, cancellations, etc much more difficult down the road. Booking direct means I can simply change in the airlines app -- often with no or low fees. And if I end up needing to call, I can call the airline directly or visit their office and change my tickets -- both of which is not possible if the ticket is held by another party.
Booking direct also allows you to access a wider variety of fare types. The carrier I fly most often (Air New Zealand) has a complex fare structure that doesn't fit in with most resellers. This means resellers usually only offer the more expensive bag/food/etc-included fares whereas I can get the seat-only fare directly saving quite a bit of money.
Really there is no benefit I can see booking with a third party. Always go direct to the airline.
Disclaimer worked on Mighty Travels before.
Maybe most of the advice to book direct to airline is concerned with domestic US flights between states etc. ???
Everything worked out, no complaints from me, but would love to hear about alternatives.
The huge advantage American Express held was in having physical offices nearly everywhere. With those gone it's more of a why bother kinda thing.
I've compared them a few times, but never booked due to cost. They've also downgraded their customer service in the UK, so I'm not inclined to pay well over the odds just to avail of that
I find OTAs are often substantially cheaper, they make their money with upsells (insurance, txt updates, etc) but if you just tick no to everything, you can often get quite the bargain.
You'll eventually get a refund from Hotwire if that happens, after waiting to speak with outsourced tech support. I've found it to not be worth the hassle of possibly not having anywhere to stay that night and ruining plans.
I've used Hotwire for more than a decade and only stopped in the past few years because it's happened so many times.