Google Flights will push you to find the best travel deal

Especially now, traveling is a big deal. For 18 to 24 months, no one was a traveler because of the epidemic. But as everything reopens, people are increasingly traveling again. Google Flights is pushing its services by promising to get you “the best deal on your next flight.” Is it better than other options?

Also Read:How to save phone battery while traveling

Travel booking assistance

Although Google launched Google Flights a decade ago, I’m learning that it’s an option. Honestly, I didn’t even know it existed. And I really enjoy my trip – and on that note, discounts on my trip too. But I’ve never heard of Google Flights, and maybe that’s the PR push behind a blog post boasting how to save on travel.

A few decades ago, we didn’t have the option of getting our own travel deals. We had to go through a travel agent to book our flight. I still do that when I book a vacation, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. to book a flight. It’s very easy to use on my phone or computer. But I actually have a preferred airline so I book it directly.

But in the past I’ve used Expedia and similar services for flights as well as hotels. It is helpful to outline all your options for you. Some apps will send you a notification when the flight you’re looking at drops in price or is expected to increase in price. You can get the same services for hotels.

Google Flights has been doing this for a long time. And when I tried, I realized it couldn’t be easier. Of course, that comes with the knowledge that Google is working with the data I’m adding, and that could be a huge disadvantage for many.

Google Flights help

Google is probably trying to convince me and others that with travel reopening after the pandemic shutdown, it’s crunching the numbers to help us book our trips. The blog post was published after analyzing five years of airline data to find pricing patterns.

When are the cheapest days to fly is a frequent question. Many people book mid-week for this reason alone. Google wrote that historically, departures on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are 12 percent cheaper than weekends. US domestic travel is 20% cheaper.

I’m not willing to book a flight with a few stops, and one of the reasons is that it usually doesn’t even save money. Why would I do such a thing? However, Google Flights highlights that historically, non-stop flights are 20% more expensive than layovers.

Another burning question is which day of the week is best to book your flight. I’ve heard it’s Tuesday before, especially in the evening. But Google says you don’t need to wait for Tuesday and only book on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday because rates are historically 1.9% cheaper.

Another question people ask is how many days before the flight they should book their tickets. Google notes that US domestic flights are usually at their lowest 21 to 60 days in advance, and those prices tend to be cheapest around the 44-day mark.

However, if you’re booking for the holidays, domestic Thanksgiving travel can be delayed 36 to 74 days in advance, and Christmas travel is best 22 days before departure. But you may also encounter booked flights during that time. Google offers preferred dates to book for specific locations, summer vacation, and spring break.

Today is 82 days before Thanksgiving, so if you’re looking for the best deal, it’s probably too early to book for that, but then again, you can check flights that are already booked, or at least if you wait that long, your preferred seat is already booked.

If you want to use your own headphones on your flight, check out this tutorial before you take off.

Image credit: Download all screenshots by Laura Tucker

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