Google Flights just keeps getting better and better.
Although many find ITA Matrix to be the absolute best site for finding flights, Google Flights actually lets you book them right there without having to go elsewhere to purchase. Back in March of 2015, Google Flights teamed up with Routehappy to add the ability to see which flights had Wifi.
Making things even easier, Google Flights has now started providing search results based on individual segments as well as just full itineraries.
How to enable the cool feature? The option becomes available when you are first starting your search and the “More” tab is available to drop down and select the choice for “always show” separate tickets.
For an example of how the separate search results look, if you need a roundtrip flight from Miami to Denver on the random dates of April 30-May 2, after selecting an outbound flight Google Flights then shows you that if you really really don’t want to return at 7:21am, you can choose Frontier to save $4 (which wouldn’t really be the smartest way to go, but is just an example).
Once you select your return flight it shows you that you’ll need to book two separate tickets, and gives you links for both.
Depending on the search results, instead of simply giving you a link to book directly with the airlines, Google Flights also displays the pricing for several online travel agencies if they are lower. In the following example for a Lisbon to Praia search, you can see that there are several options available through third-party travel agencies.
You can book directly with TAP Portugal and pay $487, or go through CheapOair, Priceline, or Orbitz to pay $474. Sometimes the difference is just a little, but sometimes you could see savings of several hundred dollars.
Will this trick save you money? Maybe. Google Flights provides links to the options but sometimes booking through a third party will save you money, and sometimes it won’t. It sure is nice to have Google Flights return all the available choices though to let you pick and choose what works best for you.
