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Google Flights

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Re: Google Flights

#61

Post by lachlanj »

dorian-graph wrote: post #31
daurnimator wrote: post #16

Looks great; but doesn't support trips originating in australia... wtf

I noticed that too. For a good, similar website, try http://www.adioso.com/ which is also an Australian startup, Melb based I think. (I'm from Brisbane)

Thanks for that, didn't know about that site. It's good too see someone in Australia working on this stuff. Love you you can watch the price too.

Re: Google Flights

#62

Post by usaphp »

geuis wrote: post #60

Searched for New Zealand and got nothing. Searched for a specific city like Auckland or Christchurch and got matches. I am used to better results from Google.

It's for US originating flights only. e.g. New York -> Paris will work, however Paris -> New York will not. But i guess they are adding additional counties.

Re: Google Flights

#64

Post by ojbyrne »

Justin_Time wrote: post #2

I'm a big fan of https://www.google.com/flights/explorer , since it gives me an immediate picture of how far in advance I should book to get the lowest prices.

I find it interesting that it basically has the same function as Kayak Explore: http://kayak.com/explore - but with a completely different presentation.

Re: Google Flights

#66

Post by brackin »

_xhok wrote: post #26

Any comparisons to that one YC-funded company (Hipmunk or something)?

Hipmunk can't compete with anyone on price as they use prices directly from airlines vs a mix of travel sites and airlines.

Hipmunk has a great interface & iPad app if you want to compare on flight "agony" and their hotels interface is very good.

Re: Google Flights

#68

Post by shiven »

contingencies wrote: post #11

I have it on reasonable authority that at least one X.25 era hacker has exploited ye-olde travel provider interfaces to: A) automatically detect and utilize cheap global routes B) brute force discount codes for global hotel chains

Care to elaborate? I am missing context here. Do you mean a Google Flights employee is that hacker? Or is X.25 accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and knowledge of ye olde software running on green phosphorescent screens?

Re: Google Flights

#69

Post by goldfish »

_delirium wrote: post #29
cynwoody wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort by agony, LOL! I like the time charts, too. Thanks. I didn't know about Hipmunk. I have been using mostly Kayak and, more recently, Google.

I like Hipmunk's interface better than Kayak's, but Kayak seems to have better data: there are sometimes good fares that appear in Kayak but not Hipmunk, while I haven't found the reverse to be true yet.

We get our data from mostly the same sources, so this should almost never happen. (There are also lots of times we have better rates than Kayak, e.g. on Amtrak and Airbnb, which they don't have.) Next time you see this, could you email contact@hipmunk.com?

Re: Google Flights

#70

Post by aes256 »

dtf wrote: post #55
lucaspiller wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

++ I use Skyscanner here in Europe for regional and international flights, however really the prices are only useful as an indication. For example, one flight I found the cheapest option was Ryanair, but when I actually booked it the price was €10 cheaper than listed on Skyscanner.

I used to find that Ryanair had a tendency to lowball the aggregators, and then whack on ridiculous extra charges at the end of a tedious and lengthy purchase process. Have they stopped doing that now?

That's not just an aggregator thing. Ryanair (and similar airlines like easyJet) have long been guilty of advertising low headline prices, then tagging on all manner of fees.

Add on the baggage fees, landing fees, priority boarding fees, tax, credit card fees, etc. and the price isn't so impressive.

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