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Comment by asdkl234890 | Hacker News Reader

A few days ago my gf tried to book a flight. Like most people, she starts with googleing flight tickets. And sees Google flights for the first time and starts using it.

Gets to the point where Google kicks you off to the airline's own page, and that's where the trouble starts. She is forced to pick seats but can't, because the only ones available require being a specially background checked and known passenger. Eventually she gives up.

Then she googles Expedia. A few minutes later she has her tickets. Yesterday she printed out the boarding passes complete with her seat assignment. On the same flight Google Flighs couldn't book.

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I'm confused. In your second paragraph you say the airline page won't let your gf book the flight, but in your third paragraph you blame it on Google.

Sounds to me that the airline webpage has additional (read: useless?) security features that Expedia doesn't have.

It is a confusingly-written comment, and I think the final bit especially is simply the wrong wording for what the author means, but beneath all that there's still a valid criticism of Google Flights over Expedia.

The unambiguous part is that Google Flights failed to account for the nature of the seats it had identified as "available", and went ahead with the recommendation when in fact they were not appropriate. The unclear part is whether Expedia did actually find the same flight and seats (as the author appears to be saying) but has some way around the security features (an agreement with the airline?), or whether Expedia was aware of the inappropriateness of the seats Google Flights recommended and in fact provided different ones on a different flight.

It would be nice if the parent had been clearer in the explanation but it seems that either way: Expedia 1, Google 0.

"Seats" is a terrible word to use. Airlines sell "inventory", not seats. You can easily buy a ticket when all seats are assigned: someone will probably not show up and you will get their seat instead. (If everyone shows up, then they'll pay you, or another volunteer, money to take the next flight instead.)

What airline? I've never heard of requiring documentation to select a seat (check-in is another thing altogether, especially if the flight is international), but I have heard of airlines reserving seats for passengers with elite status.

(It's typical to not get a seat assignment at booking time, BTW, especially if you're booking a few days before the flight.)

that doesn't make sense.

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