Google Flights is a powerful tool for finding flights at the best rates and planning your trips efficiently to maximize your savings. It’s actually an extension (not an application) of Googleone of the largest information search engines on the web, which offers this online hotel, travel and flight booking service. It is available on most web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge.
Google flights is facing stiff competition in the flight and travel comparison market. There are plenty of other popular tools(skyscanner, hopper, expedia, etc.) that can compare with Google Flights. Each of these platforms offers unique features such as date flexibility, personalized price alerts and algorithm-based price forecasts.
However, searching for airline tickets on Google flight is easy to use and the tool offers a serious advantage, a direct counter service with the airlines; but several little-known functions can also help you optimize your searches, including :
Google has improved its tool to help you plan your trips and book the cheapest flights. Thanks to Google’s recommendations, you know whether to book now or wait for prices to drop.
Enter your destination and your dates, and voilà! Google Flights quickly searches through hundreds of options to give you an overview of available flights. Ready to go? Here’s how to do it.
To search for a flight with Google Flights, go to :
Google Flight search allows you to search over 300 airlines and travel agencies, i.e. almost all carriers. Once you’ve found your low-cost ticket, book directly on the airline’s website.
As it’s not an online travel agency (unlike other booking sites), you can avoid intermediary sites and the risk of not being reimbursed in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Updates are regular, as airlines provide their fares directly to the platform.
In the top menu, Google has redesigned its menu. You can choose :
These options can also be found in the menu on the left if you click on the three bars and the price of the flights being tracked if you have activated the function for specific destinations.
Available in French, you can easily change the language. However, some airlines or booking sites may not be available in French and will be displayed in English or another language.
Language, location and currency options are available in the left-hand menu or at the bottom of the screen.
By default, Google Flights will use your position as the origin for the departure city and let you fill in the following fields:
Don’t know where to go? Let yourself be inspired by the map or other suggestions that will take you to the Google Flight Explorer page, which we’ll explain in more detail below.
Google flight quickly starts the search once the destination has been entered and offers a calendar view for dates with airfare options showing in green the prices where the cheapest days are observed, an ideal tool for travellers with flexible dates. Example for a Paris – Bali flight:
Google has recently enhanced its Google Flights tool, designed to simplify the comparison of flight options to your favourite destinations. A new feature promises to guide you towards the ideal time to make your reservations, with the aim of guaranteeing the most economical rates. The announcement was made by Google on its official blog on Monday, August 28, 2023.
When you enter your departure and destination on the platform, at the bottom of the same page, in the “Good to know” section, you’ll find a graph illustrating price trends for the flight in question. This graph will tell you whether the current rate is considered affordable, standard or high compared to usual prices.
Based on an adult economy ticket, we show you :
Google Flights also includes the destination airport, a frequently asked questions section about flights to the destination and more departure cities in the vicinity. We’ll go into more detail below.
A VPN could be beneficial if you want to see what rates would be in another country.
A major innovation is currently being rolled out: an assessment of the optimum time to make your reservation. For example, if you’re planning a round trip from Montreal to New York over the holiday season, the tool will probably recommend booking as early as September 7, with a cut-off date of December 6.
According to Google Flights, average prices are generally lowest between 1 and 4 months before departure. These recommendations are based on an analysis of previous years’ rates.
In addition to these features, Google Flights has introduced a “price guarantee”. If you spot this distinctive insignia next to the rate, you can be sure that the price won’t drop any further until you leave on vacation. You don’t have to pay anything extra.
And if, by chance, Google Flights makes a mistake and the price drops, the company promises to refund the difference. Currently, this feature is available to US users only or on specific routes where Google’s algorithms are sure that the price found is the lowest available before the flight departs.
The observed difference must be more than USD 5, and the compensation can reach USD 500 per Google Account for all eligible itineraries during the given calendar year.
Once you tap on Search, Google launches its search engine and suggests :
Use the advanced filters to use the tool to its full potential and find the cheap flight that’s right for you! You’ll be able to refine your results. Then activate price alerts to monitor price fluctuations.
The destination box is not limited to a single location! In fact, you can enter several cities and Google Flights will help you determine the most affordable way to get to your destination.
For example, for a trip to Italy, you don’t have to limit yourself to the Rome airport if your trip includes several parts of the country. Also, don’t neglect the airports in the surrounding countries to save on your trip; a bus connects Nice to Genoa in 3 hours for as little as 15 €.
The Google Flight platform lets you search from several airports at the same time. It helps you find the cheapest departure airport or flight for your destination (up to 7 airports or locations).
If you indicate that you are a group, Google Flights will display the total price for all travelers.
Once you’ve set a destination, if you’re flexible, Google Flights will show you the cheapest days to travel to your destination.
The Google Flights availability calendar appears by default when you enter your travel date information. When you search for a round-trip ticket, the tool gives you an overview of the costs according to the number of days you want. Sometimes going away or coming back within a few days can mean a lot of savings.
If you request a one-way ticket, Google Flights will show the lowest price for each date on the availability calendar. Since Google Flights includes lower costs in the results, they can be easily spotted. These carriers do not operate flights every day and this is a good way to quickly determine the frequency of their routes.
Then, it is possible to visualise the flexible rates using a table like the following:
Google Flights will then present you with the results; the “best flights” will be displayed first according to criteria based on price, flight times, connections, etc.
Then, you can scroll down the list of more results if you can’t find your account. For example, the “best flight” is usually not with a 6 hour layover in Toronto, but it might be more appropriate with the current situation and the chaos of Revenge Travel!
You can then separately select the outbound and return flight that you are happy with.
You can sort the results display by price, duration, hours, etc.
Google Flights also presents you with a lot of useful information such as the type of plane you will be flying on. This can be very convenient for people who want to choose their plane.
Then, Google Flights shows the type of seat available on the flight. This doesn’t matter much when traveling in economy class, but when you’re spoiling yourself with business class, you usually want to make sure you get the best product for your money or points!
There is a huge difference between a “standard recliner” and a “full recliner”.
Finally, we can also determine the availability in general. For example, the first class suite on the Singapore Airlines A-380 can accommodate up to 6 passengers.
So, in the event that you would like to know how many tickets are available, you can search for 4-6 passengers; if Google Flights shows results, it implies that you have a good chance of being able to book those seats with points since many are not yet sold.
However, ExpertFlyer is superior to Google Flights for this kind of availability information. Since point transfers are sometimes necessary and irreversible, it is preferable to cross-check the information with ExpertFlyer which is a more accurate tool.
As of a week ago, Google now displays Southwest Airlines flights and fares. This important new feature will help improve the experience and visibility of customers who, until now, have not been able to see this information, as the company has been restituting.
Travelers can now compare flight options and click directly on Southwest.com to book their future flight.
You can monitor prices and receive notifications when rates change. A great way to grab a bargain!
Google Flights can, therefore, help you determine whether the ticket price you have selected is a reasonable price or not. After all, it is a search engine that analyzes billions of data and presents them to you in the form of graphs with the costs for a trip similar to yours:
Or a simple summary on the confirmation and purchase page:
To ensure you don’t miss out on discount opportunities, Google Flights also introduces a real-time price tracking function. You will receive a notification (by e-mail) as soon as a significant fare reduction is detected for a specific route and date.
On the last page, you will find a summary of the chosen itinerary and links to the places to make the reservation. That’s right; Google Flights only does the research for you; you don’t purchase with them. Once you’ve made your choice, Google Flights redirects you to the airline’s website or a travel agency to finalize your booking.
Also, the conditions specific to the ticket you have selected are also listed such as the different fare options, baggage allowance, or cancellation terms.
If you’re not quite ready to buy, you can activate an alert in the top right-hand corner of the confirmation and purchase page; Google Flights alert will keep you informed of any fluctuations, so you can save even more money.
It is worth noting that there are as many third party sites as there are official sites that appear in the choices for booking your flight.
These links are very convenient as they will take you directly to the payment page to book your flight. This way, you don’t need to re-enter the data to proceed with the purchase.
Be careful with third-party sites; it is always easier to handle a problem when the booking is made with the airline.
Personally, I try to avoid third-party sites; if I have no choice, I would only proceed with a credit card with excellent travel insurance like the National Bank World Elite Mastercard® for Canadians.
Don’t know where to go? Google Flights Explorer lets you explore destinations based on your criteria: beach, adventure, culture…
The “destination” box isn’t restricted to airports; you can also perform a broader search such as “Europe” or “Oceania” in the same way. This feature of Google Flights is particularly interesting for viewing the least expensive options as entry points to the area or simply to locate a place for a cheaper vacation.
The “explore” tab of Google Flights also allows you to move around the map and zoom in on the area you like. For example, after exploring a bit, you might decide to postpone the vacation to St. Lucia and go to the Galapagos Islands or Costa Rica instead!
I have often used this tool to go to Europe or Asia; I just have to find an entry at the best price and that does it! Once there, I use the low-cost modes of transportation to go precisely where I would like to spend my vacations.
In this example, I would buy a ticket to Paris to go to Greece with a low-cost airline.
Finally, if you are both flexible on the destination and the dates, you are in luck! Google Flights allows you to search for a two-week plane ticket anywhere and anytime in the next 6 months.
Points Path, the new Google Flights extension, facilitates the search for award seats.
By installing it on your desktop or laptop, you can immediately view airline award prices in points when searching on Google Flights.
Points Path works only on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
Available for one-way and round-trip flights with American Airlines AAdvantage points, Delta Skymiles and United Mileage Plus. Points Path retrieves points prices at the same time as cash results, offering a quick comparison.
American Express Membership Rewards credit cards and RBC Avion credit cards in Canada are also very useful to have on hand when using the Points Path extension. These cards allow you to earn Delta Skymiles and American Airlines AAdvantage miles via points transfers. So you can book directly into these programs without having to worry about whether the same flight is available elsewhere or not.
To download the extension, go to the Points Path website and sign up to receive the e-mail with the link to the tool.
Please note that Points Path only works if your Google Flights search engine language is English.
To use the extension, just do your usual Google Flights search.
Wheels next to cash prizes indicate Points Path work, and an arrow guides you to the best option between “Use miles” or “Use cash”. Points Path is designed to be simple; the extension does not analyze all the factors involved, such as the different fare classes or your personal points valuation. So, to maximize your points, it’s best to think beyond what Points Path suggests, to make sure you’re making the right choice. Finally, the suggestion of Points Path according to their valuation is more precise when the currency is selected in US dollars.
After a few seconds, you’ll get the points rates for each supported program. In addition, if a flight is not available with points or miles, Points Path will inform you so.
You can also be directed to the airline’s website to book your chosen flight.
Points Path simplifies the process of finding and booking award flights, covering American, Delta and United frequent flyer programs, both for direct flights and associated partners.
Although only the big three US players are currently supported by Points Path, the fact that United is included is good news for Aeroplan users, since award availability is likely to be similar.
In fact, here’s an example of United’s award availability between San Francisco and Tokyo.
The same flight is available on the Air Canada website, and you can book it using your Aeroplan points!
Similarly, you can use Google Flights and Points Path to find availability on British Airways Executive Club. Indeed, if there is award availability on American Airlines, especially for partners, it will surely be similar to use your Avios on British Airways.
Here is an example:
And confirmation of the premium inventory of the same flights on British Airways (very useful for finding availability in Qsuite!):
We can optimize our search and travel planning using the various filters on Google Flights. As it is a search engine, we want it to find what we are looking for!
You can select one or more filters at the same time either :
When you modify a search, your chosen filters remain in place! This is convenient if you want to go back to see the adjusted prices in the flexibility calendar.
This first filter indicates the number of stops on your itinerary. By default, Google Flights will search for flights without looking at the number of stops; sometimes the cheapest flights are in multiple segments.
So, it’s handy to be able to sort the results to highlight only direct flights, either by preference or by convenience, to reduce the risk of missing your connection due to a flight delay!
On the other hand, if one wishes to take advantage of Aeroplan’s stopover sweets pots or a Oneworld multi-partner ticket, one can see the routes that can be made and determine whether or not one would like to stop there on the way.
A stopover is the time you spend at the airport between two flights, while a connection is a flight you must take to reach your final destination if there is no direct flight.
For example, on a ticket from Montreal to Paris to Nice, you have a stopover in Paris while you wait for your connecting flight to Nice.
The “Company” tab allows you to choose to display results according to airline alliances or to include or exclude certain airlines.
This filter is particularly advantageous when booking using points. Since the fare on partners is fixed in the Aeroplan program, it may be interesting to use Google Flights to find all the options to get you there excluding Air Canada from the results.
For tickets with points, you should not look at the price of the ticket, but at the possible routes; we do not intuitively think to look at certain routes especially when they are positioned far down the list because of the price.
However, the cost in money does not matter if you are aiming for award tickets and it is a good way to discover connections. On the other hand, Flight Connections also provides this information and presents it in a more visual way.
With the baggage filter, Google Flights readjusts the prices according to your choice.
For example, when looking for a weekend flight to New York, you can see that the price without any luggage is $350; adding a carry-on bag does not change the cost.
However, one checked bag changes the fare on the same flight to $419.
So you can save money by traveling with carry-on baggage only, or buy your plane ticket at the lowest fare and pay for the baggage charges with National Bank World Elite Mastercard® travel credits.
On international flights, one checked bag is usually included in the standard fare. Then the checked baggage option disappears from the filter on these flights; only the carry-on option can be selected.
However, be sure to read the terms and conditions of the ticket you’ve selected on the Google Flights summary page; the base fare does not include checked baggage, even on an international flight.
And if you have a Canadian Aeroplan credit card and are travelling on a flight operated by Air Canada, you can choose the lowest fare without having to pay for checked baggage! In fact, a card like the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card offers a free checked bag as a benefit!
This is actually a very good card to keep for the long term; the $139 annual fee more than makes up for it. You can always take the cheapest flight and you will save on luggage for every flight! Additionally, this benefit applies to you and up to 8 people on your reservation!
You can also filter the results of Google Flights according to your budget. All you have to do is set a price limit for your airfare.
Google Flights also allows you to sort the flights that best fit your schedule. For example, you might want to leave in the evening after your work day or at times that are more convenient for traveling with children.
Personally, I’ve always used this Google Flights feature to maximize my time at my destination by taking a flight that arrives in the morning and brings me home late in the evening.
When Google Flights displays results, you can see that there are some flights that are classified as “less polluting” and others that are more so; it’s up to you to decide whether or not the carbon footprint is important.
Inevitably, having a connecting flight increases our carbon footprint since you are taking two flights to get there.
Google Flights calculates the carbon emission this way:
The CO₂ emission estimates take into account the origin and destination of the flight, the type of aircraft, and the number of seats in each class. Certain factors, such as fuel-efficient aircraft and shorter routes, generally generate lower CO₂ emissions.
The CO₂ emission estimates take into account the origin and destination of the flight, the type of aircraft, and the number of seats in each class.
Certain factors, such as fuel-efficient aircraft and shorter routes, generally generate lower CO₂ emissions.
Here you can choose to avoid certain airports on your way. The connections filter is especially interesting when you want to make a stop in a particular city.
For example, you might intentionally put in a stopover in Cairo while en route to Turkey. So, you can take advantage of this stop to go and see the pyramids in Egypt! The filter allows you to deselect all other airports with a single click.
All flights are listed on Google Flights, this includes flights with 3 stopovers that take you to Portugal in 35 hours compared to a direct 7 hour flight.
You can then determine the maximum acceptable hours for your trip.
The last filter you can choose on Google Flights is ticket splitting; whether it’s a one-way, round-trip, or multi-destination ticket, Google Flights will search for the most economical combinations for you.
Therefore, it is possible that the most optimal way to book your ticket is to purchase two separate segments; that is, two separate tickets.
Ticket splitting is enabled by default on Google Flights; if you are not interested in this feature and always prefer to purchase your tickets on the same reservation, you can uncheck it.
Google Flights also indicates if it is possible to buy both tickets on the same reservation or not. However, when buying two separate tickets on the same booking, they are often third party sites and I strongly suggest booking directly with the airlines. In case of a problem, it will be easier to manage without an intermediary (the third party site).
If you purchase tickets on different reservations, the carriers are not obligated to communicate with each other; in case of missing the connecting flight, you will have to contact the insurance company.
Credit card travel insurance usually provides cancellation/interruption insurance in case of flight delays.
Be sure to space your flights appropriately to qualify for coverage. For example, National Bank World Elite Mastercard® insurance protects against such a situation if the first flight is scheduled to arrive at least 4 hours before the departure of the next flight.
Similarly, if you are building a point-to-point route with an Aeroplan stop, Google Flights will help you determine the possibilities. Unlike the “stopover” function which dictates the number of flight segments, this filter takes care of selecting (or avoiding) certain airports.
Flights available on Google Flights Montreal are available on this page.
Flights available on Google Flights Quebec are listed on this page.
Flights available on Google Flights Toronto are listed on this page.
Flights available on Google Flights New York are available on this page.
No, it’s not possible to follow a flight live on Google Flights. However, you can enter the flight number in the Google search engine to access real-time flight tracking.
Some think Google’s flight search tool is called Google Fly, Google Flight Tracker or Google Air. But this is a mistake. Google’s flight search tool is called Google Flights. This tool has been improved thanks to ITA Flights / ITA Matrix Airfare Search (now owned by Google).
Activate price alerts to receive email notifications.
Yes, Google Flights also lets you search for and book hotels. You can also rent accommodation on vacation.
Both tools are online travel search and booking services that help you find the best rates. They compare offers from different airlines, as well as travel agencies and booking sites for Skycanner, and hotels and car rentals for Google Flights.
Google Flights has the advantage of offering additional features such as the ability to track flight prices for specific dates and chosen itineraries, as well as a calendar view of fares to find the most advantageous dates for travel. It offers more advanced features for travel planning and management. Google Flights operators are banking on speed and integration with other Google services, such as Google Travel, Google Explore and more.
Although both services have similar functionalities, Skyscanner focuses primarily on price search and comparison. The tool offers a user-friendly interface and a wide variety of flight options.
It offers a refund if the price drops after booking, guaranteeing you the best rate.
Google Flights is a free, powerful and easy-to-use tool for the modern traveller looking for cheap airfares. By using its features to their full potential, you can save money, time, and effort when planning your next trip.
If you use it a lot, you can master it very quickly. As experts in reward programs and travel, Google Flights has always been essential to our trip planning arsenal.
Enjoy the flight!
See our other articles on Google tools :
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