How to Use Google Flights To Find Cheap Flights

Google Flights stands out as the ultimate tool for finding affordable flights. It surpasses other options like Skyscanner, Hopper, Priceline, or Expedia. Google Flights is potent, offering numerous features to pinpoint the best flight prices. Its ‘Price Guarantee feature may even secure you a refund if prices drop after booking. 

The platform boasts powerful filters for your preferred flight searches. The flight booking platform has the ability to book directly with airlines, which is definitely a crucial feature post-pandemic. 

What’s even better is a new feature on Google Flights that is proving helpful in identifying the cheapest time to book flights. So, if you’re planning to use Google Flights to book a ticket for your upcoming trip, you’re at the right place! We’ll help you discover the best tips and tricks to secure your next budget-friendly flight. 

How to Use Google Flights To Find Cheap Flights?

Why Should You Choose Google Flights?

We suggest Google Flights because it’s your go-to for affordable flights, both local and international. Unlike Expedia or Skyscanner, Google’s search engine stands out.

Online travel agencies, or OTAs, sell flights, hotels, and more. Google differs—it’s a global platform where airlines post their prices directly. Google is a convenient hub for all things flight-related.

Advantages Of Google Flight

Google Flights stands out from other flight search engines due to its unique advantages:

• Direct Booking: Unlike typical online travel agencies (OTAs), Google Flights allows you to book directly with airlines. So, you can avoid any potential issues with smaller agencies.
• Comprehensive Search: Google Flights excels in displaying months’ worth of flights. It provides alerts on potential savings by adjusting travel dates.
• Multi-Airport Search: The platform enables simultaneous searches across multiple airports. So, it’s a valuable tool for finding the most affordable departure or arrival points in international travel.
• Advanced Filtering: Google Flights allows precise filtering to help you discover preferred flights and avoid those you don’t want.
• Price Insights: A new feature added in August 2023 displays when prices are the lowest on specific routes. This feature helps you in deciding whether to book immediately or wait.

Drawbacks Of Google Flights

Let’s also take a look at some of the drawbacks of booking flights with Google Flights. 

• Potential Cheaper Fares: Google Flights primarily lists airfare directly from airlines. However, sometimes, OTAs might offer cheaper fares through special deals with carriers.
• Pricing Accuracy: Infrequent issues with outdated pricing may occur on Google Flight. It can lead to a displayed price differing from the actual cost when booking with the airline.
• Limited Airlines: Although most airlines are available, some, like Southwest Airlines, may not list their fares on Google Flights or other search engines.

Despite these drawbacks, Google Flights remains superior to alternatives, making it an ideal starting point for finding affordable flights. 

How to Use Google Flights

To begin your flight search, go to Google Flights at https://www.google.com/flights. Since no app is available, you can use the desktop version for the best experience. The user-friendly homepage updates based on your choices for departure, destination, dates, and more.

Google Flights meticulously fetches airfares across a plethora of airline websites. Below is an instructional guide on how you can utilize Google Flights.

Choosing Departure And Arrival Settings On Google Flights

Upon reaching the homepage, enter your desired departure and arrival locations, along with your preferred travel dates.

While choosing the departure and arrival dates, there are three things that you need to consider:

• Specify the destination as either a country or an entire continent. For instance, if you seek the most economical flight to Australia during the winter holidays, designate “Australia” as your destination.
• You can include up to seven airports in each field, separated by commas. For example, if you are looking for an affordable European escapade, you can  input destinations like “LHR, CDG, AMS, CPH, BCN, FCO, MXP.” This way, you can explore the best-priced flight from Chicago to any of these cities: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Rome, or Milan.
• Certain cities with multiple airports have designated codes. Some examples include NYC (New York City) or WAS (Washington DC).

How To Choose Dates On Google Flights To Find The Most Economical Travel Date

To identify the most budget-friendly travel dates, select the departure date box on Google Flights. On doing so, a display of prices for a span of two months will show up. It will show you the most affordable dates highlighted in green color.

There are a few things that you need to consider while choosing your preferred travel dates:

• A Google flight search exclusively shows you the prices for the months specified by you. The dates in green represent the lowest fares in May and June. However, you can explore more saving options by exploring earlier or later time frames.
• The cheaper green dates are only for the length of the trip you first picked. If you change the duration (as shown in the red box), you might find many different prices. Here’s a tip: Prices often drop a lot when you switch from a 6-day to a 7-day trip because many international flights have a rule that the cheapest fares are only for trips lasting at least 7 days.
• After checking the calendar for the cheapest fares, choose the dates you want. This will reveal a long list of possible flights. 
• You’ll also find that on Google Flights, there is a highlighted section called “Best Departing Flights.” It takes into account factors like price and routing. Although these options are important, it’s beneficial to also explore the “Other Departing Flights” section to find flights that may better fit your schedule.

All the flight times you see on Google Flights are shown in the local time of the respective locations. If you see a +1 next to the listed arrival time on a Google Flights itinerary, it means your flight will arrive the next day (or +2 if it says so), indicating a two-day gap.

How to Book Flights Using Google Flights?

Once you’ve chosen an appropriate departure flight, click on it. Afterward, you’ll be asked to choose a corresponding return flight (if you’re booking a roundtrip fare).

If you wish to revisit and modify the departure flight, click on the area that reads “NYC-SFO” on the left, above “Returning flights.”

Here are some essential points to keep in mind while booking a flight:

• The price displayed by Google Flights comprises all taxes but excludes optional fees, such as seat selection or additional baggage charges if not already included.
• In the case of a roundtrip itinerary search, the price shown by Google Flights constitutes the total cost for the entire roundtrip.
• Google Flights functions as a flight search engine and not as an online travel agency (OTA). As a result, Google Flights doesn’t directly handle the sale of flights. 
• Instead, after you’ve chosen your preferred flight, it offers links for booking through an online travel agency or directly with the airline. 
• Some airlines might provide the option to “Book on Google with [airline],” streamlining the process by allowing Google to transmit your information and payment to the airline. Once you’ve chosen your return flight, various booking options will be presented for you to consider.

 

 

 

 

Different airlines provide different types of economy tickets, and the most common ones are the basic economy and main economy (or similar names). Google Flights is a useful tool that provides information about the various privileges and limitations associated with these different types of economy tickets.

What To Do When You Can’t Book Cheap Flights On Google Flights (aka “Ghosting”)?

Wondering what to do when you can’t grab those budget-friendly flights through Google Flights (“Ghosting”)? Sometimes, Google Flights teases you with a cheap fare, but when you try to book it, the price suddenly goes up, or you can’t book it at all! It’s called “ghosting.”

Ghosting doesn’t happen often, but it’s because the airline might’ve just changed the fare, and the new price hasn’t been updated on the search results yet.

If Google Flights suggests calling the airline for that cheap price, don’t bother. It won’t work because the airline has already changed the fare. You can feel a bit sad about missing that awesome deal and cross your fingers for better luck next time.

If you spot a fare that’s ghosting, here are a couple of ways to check if it’s really gone:

• Test out different dates on Google Flights. Maybe the airline adjusted prices for May 2-9, but the cheap fare is still there for May 3-10.
• Take the dates of a ghosting fare and see if you can book it on an online travel agency like Priceline or Expedia. 
• Just keep in mind that airfare can change quickly. If a great fare ghosts, the chances of still getting it are pretty low.

Using The Google Flights Explore Map

So, you’ve been hustling to book your flight ticket. After all, you just need a cheap flight to reach the destination.

Instead of spending forever searching through different airports, there’s this cool trick on Google Flights that helps you find flights super fast: the Explore map.

Here’s how you get there:

• Do a regular Google Flights search. Instead of an airport, type in a country, region, or continent. Click the blue Explore button.
• Or just click the Explore button at the top of the Google Flights page.
• Boom! Google Flights shows you a map, and you can zoom in anywhere to see more flight options.
• If your schedule is flexible, choose “Flexible dates” to find even cheaper flights. 
• Pick which months you want to travel and how long you want to stay—weekend, 1 week, or 2 weeks.
• You can make the search even better on the Google Explore map
• Use filters at the top to choose the number of stops, your favorite airlines, travel times, and how long the flight is. 

You can also say how many bags you’ve got, and Google Flights will show prices that include bag fees. Adjust the slider in the Price section to set the most you’re willing to spend, and any flights costing more will vanish from your results. Cool, right?

Tracking Flight Prices On Google Flights

Want to keep tabs on flight prices using Google Flights? It’s a handy way to ensure you catch a fantastic deal, and here are three scenarios where it comes in super handy:

• Specific Flight Tracking: When you’re eyeing a particular flight and want to be in the loop about any price changes.
• Date-Specific Travel: If you’ve got set dates for your trip and want to know when prices shift for any flight during those days.
• Destination-Specific Travel: When you’re fixed on flying to a specific place and want to be in the know when prices shift on any date.

Here’s how to do it: 

• Set your departure and arrival cities and pick your travel dates. On the results page, look for the “Track prices” button. 
• Click it so it turns on and becomes blue. (If you’re not logged into Google, it might ask you to do so.)

Pro Tip: Before hitting the track prices button, set any filters you want (like nonstop flights or excluding certain airlines). This way, you’ll only get notifications about the flights you’re really interested in.

Once you’ve started tracking flights, a small box at the bottom of the page lets you “View all” your tracked flight prices. You’ll receive an email whenever there’s a change in price.

Booking Multi-City Tickets On Google Flights

Booking multi-city or open-jaw tickets on Google Flights is a simple process.

• When you’re on the main screen, look to the left where it says “round trip.” 
• Click the drop-down menu and choose “multi-city.”
• Now, put in your travel dates and cities like you normally would. You can add up to five flights.

 

 

Quick Tip: If you’re planning to visit more than one city on an international trip, it’s usually cheaper to book an open-jaw multi-city flight instead of separate one-way flights. 

Many airlines charge almost the same for one-ways as they do for round trips or multi-city flights on long trips. For instance, if you’re going to Paris and Rome, search for a multi-city flight—starting from your home airport to Paris and then from Rome back to your home airport. 

Once you’ve booked the long-haul parts, book a separate flight from Paris to Rome. This way, you’ll save a lot compared to booking three one-way flights or a single three-stop journey.

How Can You Know If You’ve Bagged A Great Deal On Google Flights?

On Google Flights, there’s a cool thing that helps you know if the flight prices are good.

Imagine you’re planning a trip from Mexico to Canada from December 31 To January 23. Google Flights says the current $398 price is low, and $267 is even better than usual. They also show a chart that tells you how prices changed in the last few months for that route.

But, don’t take it super seriously. Sometimes, their idea of what flights “normally” cost can be a bit high. Right now, they say $1,050 for off-peak flights as usual, which might sound too much. So, think of their price ranges as more like a general idea of how today’s prices compare.

Getting Refunds From Google Flights 

When it comes to refunds for flights booked through Google Flights, it’s important to note that since Google Flights is a search engine and the actual bookings are made directly with the airline, refund policies depend on each airline’s rules.

In the United States, there’s a handy guideline called the Department of Transportation’s “24-hour rule.” According to this, you can cancel your flight and get a full refund if it’s done within 24 hours of purchasing the ticket. 

This rule applies to any flight leaving from a US airport, as long as you booked the ticket directly with the airline and did so at least 7 days before the departure date.

Which Airlines Can You Find On Google Flights?

Here are some airlines listed on Google Flights:

• Aer Lingus
• Aeromexico
• Air Canada
• Air Serbia
• Alaska
• ANA
• American
• British Airways
• China Southern
• Copa
• Delta
• Ethiopian
• Etihad
• Emirates
• Hawaiian
• Iberia
• Icelandair
• JetBlue
• KLM
• LOT
• Lufthansa
• Qatar Airways
• SAS
• Singapore Airlines
• Swiss
• TAP
• Turkish Airlines
• United
• Westjet,

Airlines Not Listed On Google Flights

Southwest Airlines isn’t listed on Google Flights. Southwest exclusively sells tickets directly on their website and intentionally avoids listing them through online travel agencies.

Interestingly, Google Flights does display Southwest flights, but without revealing the price. To check the fare, you’ll need to visit Southwest.com.

Changing Currency, Language, Or Location On Google Flights

• In the top left corner of Google Flights, look for the three horizontal lines (the “hamburger” symbol) next to the “Google” logo.
• Click on it.
• A menu will pop up on the left side. 
• Towards the bottom, you can pick a new language, currency, or location for your Google Flights.

Filtering Your Searches

When it comes to travel, preferences matter. Whether it’s a first-class honeymoon flight, a specific departure time, or a preferred airline, Google Flights understands and lets you conduct your search accordingly.

You can refine your flight searches using the below-mentioned filters.

• Stops: You can choose between nonstop flights or trips with the option of stop preferences.
• Airlines: This filter will let you see results based on specific airlines.
• Bags: You can include a carry-on bag filter in your flight search to eliminate budget carriers. This filter allows you to focus on airlines allowing free carry-ons.
• Price: Using the ‘Price’ filter, you can set a budget by specifying the maximum amount you can pay for a flight.
• Time: The ‘Time’ filter allows you to customize your search based on preferred departure and arrival times.
• Emissions: You can opt for greener flights by applying the Emissions filter.
• Connecting Airports: Narrow down results by choosing specific airports for connections. This filter will help you avoid extra-long layovers.
• Duration: With the ‘Duration’ filter, you can choose a maximum flight duration that suits your preferences.
• Eliminate Separate Tickets: This filter will allow you to exclude flights on separate tickets.

Book Tickets Directly With The Airlines

With Google Flights, you can book your flights directly with the airline. Unlike other sites like Kayak or Expedia, Google takes you to the airline’s website for booking. Just click “Select,” and you’re on your way to a straightforward booking process.

Tips To Get The Best Out Of Google Flights 

Here are the top tips to maximize Google Flights:

• Use the filter stop feature to easily find nonstop flights. This feature will also show you a one-stop option that’ll help you save money, especially on international trips.
• If you have a favorite airline or alliance, you can use Google’s filter to see results.
• Search for multiple cities, and explore multiple departure and destination cities simultaneously. It’s a great idea for international travel planning.
• Use Google Flights Explore for spontaneous getaways. ‘Explore’ helps you find cheap deals by simply entering your departure airport or scrolling across the map.
• Make use of the Price Alert feature to track and alert you to price changes for your specific travel dates.

Also, Check –How To Use United Airlines Travel Credits

Conclusion

Google Flights has emerged as the top flight search engine today. It offers several unique features and capabilities to the people that set it apart from the competition. 

Google Flights has the ability to facilitate direct bookings with airlines and it also comes with extensive filtering options. Above all, it has an extremely user-friendly interface which makes it a go-to tool for travelers seeking affordable and customized flight options.

This guide will help you book your next flight easily with the help of Google Flights. All you need to do is follow the step-by-step process and you’re done!