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Comment by casca | Hacker News Reader

I've been running searches like this using http://matrix.itasoftware.com for years but I've built up my own lists of what constitutes "Eastern Europe" and "US West Coast". ITA provides software for the airline industry so has high-speed connections - anyone know what system they're using to get the flight data?

This could be a great tool that allows people to do powerful, meaningful searches that have been limited to more technical folk. The business model is there, the big question is whether the queries are allowed to run long enough to find the best results.

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They are the system for the flight data. The airlines submit their routing information to ITA and ITA provides the search functionality for most of the travel websites and agencies you use.

As others have said, they don't have every airline, and there are other route search companies, but they are one of the biggest.

As for the queries, airline routes and their pricing is extremely complicated. Their matrix software has been getting better over the years, and it does add new features every once in a while. But as for it being "a great tool... with a [potential] business model", that's what they're doing at ITA. If you've got some great query ideas, go see them. They're always hiring, their recruitment ads are all over boston.

I believe Matrix uses ITA which was recently acquired by Google http://www.google.com/press/ita/comp.html

I don't think you understood the GP's question. Obviously matrix.itasoftware.com has an affiliation with itasoftware.com. :)

I've never found a cheaper flight using Matrix. It must be heavily skewed with the US or missing a lot of European airlines.

This site is the maximum you should pay, as its what travel agents & aggragators pull data from. I've regular found cheaper flights from onetravel.com, but I use the Matrix site to find flights (for years now), as all available flights & code-shares are usually on there. Some rare exceptions. I normally flight to/from or in Asia and any airline I care to fly, except for a few that only sell on their own website, are listed on the Matrix site.

I used matrix (the ios app is great!) and I found it had the cheapest prices and best search, no competition (sweden to japan)

Matrix (and Adioso, which I guess uses the same backend) appears to be missing at least RyanAir and EasyJet, and presumably other low-cost carriers.

Honestly, if you don't include the 2nd and 4th largest European airlines[1], you might as well forget about the European market entirely.

Skyscanner and Kayak both include the low-cost carriers.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_airlines_in_Eur...

Given that skyscanner doesn't find easyjet results for me, nor does it find ryanair I'm going to guess that they don't let these services pull in their data to consumers. I am guessing this is an ownership issue, and that they want to process customers themselves, rather than through resellers.

Odd, it works fine for me (and this exact feature was skyscanner's original USP.) e.g. http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/tll/lond/130215/airfares-f...

Note that sometimes you have to click the "show all" link at the top of the search results to get low-cost airline results to appear. (This is possibly revenue-related.)

Most low cost carriers aren't willing to pay to be listed in Global Distribution Systems. Kayak is linked to Amadeus and Matrix to ITA, so unless extra development is done, they will only list flights from GDS-listed companies

|so unless extra development is done

This is a large part of my job. We have content from many airlines which are not listed by ITA, Amadeus, or Sabre

Hi Dean,

Skyscanner shows budget airlines (including both Ryanair and easyJet) along with 'traditional' airlines (BA, KLM, Virgin etc etc). In fact we show almost every airline in the world.

If you are searching for a route which you know Ryanair/easyJet to fly but we are not showing it, please do contact our customer feedback team (http://www.skyscanner.net/contactus.aspx) with the details and we'll investigate immediately.

Thanks

Sam www.Skyscanner.net

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