tdelano

When I search Google Flights and find a great rate there is not a buy option. When I go to the airlines website to book the flight the price is not offered. How do you actually get the price offered on Google Flight? Thanks

Christina

I don't understand what you may be doing, but GOogle Flights is just a search tool (in fact, I think they bought itasoftware so it's the same search method as Kayak etc use). When you pick your itinerary by price, you click on the carrier to buy and it send you to the carrier's website. But there is a button about buying the ticket on the Google search page results. I suppose occasionally the same price may change on the carrier's website just due to timing or something, but it shouldn't happen all the time.

When I tried it, I got the same price on the airline's own website that I was referred to.

annw

My Google Flight searches have had a button below offering booking through Orbitz or Expedia.

Unfortunately, when I got a good rate on Expedia and tried to book it I then got a higher charge when I was about to pay.

So I went to Orbitz and was able to secure the appropriate price.

Google Flights also offers a matrix through which you can compare a month's worth of prices by date -- worth checking if you have flexibility, to compare price diffs between, say, weekends and weekdays.

MyTripQuest

Google flights just gives you an idea of what is out there. Airline prices are dynamic and change all the time. Use Google flights as a place to start your search but you will have to take the time and go direct to the airlines to get up to date prices.
Google flights is not like Orbiz where you can book the flight directly it is just a search tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

Christina

no, you don't have to take your time to do that, there is a button where it automatically sends you to the appropriate website to purchase. It is more than a search tool in that aspect, it does send you to the other website with just pushign a button.

michelhuebeli

You might want to go to www.airfarewatchdog.com and sign up and input your departure and destination cities, you'll get email alerts about fares, sometimes they are helpful and offer an incredible bargain - at other times they don't pertain to your time frame or the fares are high and you simply delete the email.
No spam, and you can change your search parameters or cancel them at anytime.

michelhuebeli

Oh, forgot to mention - airfarewatchdog doesn't sell - it links you to the source for the announced fare,and you still have to ferret out just how to get that very special fare, which is not easy on some airline websites. But you'll soon get the hang of it.

ZacPack12

It usually sends you to the proper channel for buying a ticket, whatever website that is. Watch out for those cheap airlines that offer the cheapest ticket but then charge you fees for every cubic inch of air you dare breathe.

michelhuebeli

ZacPack12 makes a good point - add-ons that once were included in the fares now can bust your budget.

However, in defense of these budget airlines that I have used recently - IcelandAir, Norwegian, easyJet, Ryanair, Spirit, Frontier (and maybe also WOW and WestJet and Transat which I have not used yet), it's worth pointing out that there is not much to complain about when fares start sooooo incredibly low that you still pay a lot less than with the "legacy" airlines even after you pay for bags, seat assignments, and meals if you need them.

If the basic fare is so rockbottom, I have no argument with paying for the things I may need, and not paying for those I may not need. If a small bag under the seat is all I require, I can fly from Denver to LA and back for under $40 (recently on Frontier), or for under $80 (three times this year on Spirit), or from Denver to Paris and back with IcelandAir for under $700 with a regular rollaway.

What gets questionable in my view is the policy of some "legacy" airlines, making you pay for those things that used to be included in their fares, while not dropping the basic fares to minimum levels.