Around the World Trip - Is Google Flights reliable
Jun 6th, 2022, 05:32 AM
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Around the World Trip - Is Google Flights reliable
Hello Experienced travelers - I'm planning a trip that starts in NY and includes stops in Madrid, Morocco, Sydney, Bali and back to the US. I've never used Goggle Flights to book a multi-city trip and wonder about the customer service help should I have encounter any travel mishaps along the way. I welcome any comments from the Forum. Thank you.
Jun 6th, 2022, 07:50 AM
#2
Welcome to Fodors!
Because you'd be buying through a third party, like with Expedia or any other online travel agency, you'd more likely have to rely upon the airlines themselves for problem-solving, although I'm sure there are avenues of recourse available through Google. Contacting them from some overseas location might be a bit problematic, of course.
Given a round the world (RTW) itinerary, however, I do think you ought to have a look at the RTW ticket products offered by the various alliances. I posted a (typically) long and wordy thread about these a couple of years ago; you might want to have a look at it. Round-the-world and multi-continent airfares - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (fodors.com)
Basically these are tickets that cover up to 16 flights on members of the various alliances, with the requirement that you travel around the world and cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction, east to west or v.v. They're good for a year, allow changes in dates and itinerary with relatively small (or no) charges, include checked baggage, and - in general - offer pretty good value, depending on where you start and end the trip.
Prices vary hugely depending on the "country of origin." For example, using the Oneworld Explorer (which is probably the best fit for your plans) the price for your itinerary (not counting taxes and fees like airport fees etc.) is around US$5400 if you begin and end in the US. If you begin in Canada, the price falls to $4200. If you begin in Ireland, Spain or anywhere else in the Euro zone, $2650, so roughly half the US cost. (These are all for economy travel. If you want to travel in business class, the costs are obviously higher - roughly double the coach fares - but the difference between "origin" countries is even more dramatic.) A one-way "positioning" flight to Europe from, say, NYC, is around $300, so worth the effort IMO.
It's worth noting that if you started the trip in Europe you could use the Oneworld Explorer's allowance of six flights within North America, so following the RTW trip you could still travel quite a bit around the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean, before returning to your country of origin in Europe to finish the ticket.
Maybe worth considering and doing some research. There are links in the thread I posted if interested.
Because you'd be buying through a third party, like with Expedia or any other online travel agency, you'd more likely have to rely upon the airlines themselves for problem-solving, although I'm sure there are avenues of recourse available through Google. Contacting them from some overseas location might be a bit problematic, of course.
Given a round the world (RTW) itinerary, however, I do think you ought to have a look at the RTW ticket products offered by the various alliances. I posted a (typically) long and wordy thread about these a couple of years ago; you might want to have a look at it. Round-the-world and multi-continent airfares - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (fodors.com)
Basically these are tickets that cover up to 16 flights on members of the various alliances, with the requirement that you travel around the world and cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction, east to west or v.v. They're good for a year, allow changes in dates and itinerary with relatively small (or no) charges, include checked baggage, and - in general - offer pretty good value, depending on where you start and end the trip.
Prices vary hugely depending on the "country of origin." For example, using the Oneworld Explorer (which is probably the best fit for your plans) the price for your itinerary (not counting taxes and fees like airport fees etc.) is around US$5400 if you begin and end in the US. If you begin in Canada, the price falls to $4200. If you begin in Ireland, Spain or anywhere else in the Euro zone, $2650, so roughly half the US cost. (These are all for economy travel. If you want to travel in business class, the costs are obviously higher - roughly double the coach fares - but the difference between "origin" countries is even more dramatic.) A one-way "positioning" flight to Europe from, say, NYC, is around $300, so worth the effort IMO.
It's worth noting that if you started the trip in Europe you could use the Oneworld Explorer's allowance of six flights within North America, so following the RTW trip you could still travel quite a bit around the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean, before returning to your country of origin in Europe to finish the ticket.
Maybe worth considering and doing some research. There are links in the thread I posted if interested.
Jun 8th, 2022, 10:08 AM
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Google flights are not a travel agent, you cannot book through them. The options shown can be used for timetable & price info, prices shown are for booking thru the airline or various other online travel agents, much the same as looking for flight/price info on Skyscanner, Kayak etc. There’s nothing wrong with booking thru reputable online agents such as Expedia, despite phobias that you read about.
Jun 8th, 2022, 02:05 PM
#4
You might also check Airtreks, a consolidator I've used for 2 RTW trips and other multi-continent itineraries. I found them very responsive & actually kept track of things as I traveled, unbeknownst to me, discovered when I got an email from my agent when I changed a flight, wanting t know if I'd done it or was it done to me. It was a surprise & reassuring. Anyway, they may save you some money if that matters to you.
https://www.airtreks.com/
https://www.airtreks.com/
