Logotype
Back

How To Use Google Flights To Find Cheap Flights

Travel2 years ago
Flight coming in for a landing

Google Flights is one of the best websites for cheap flights and deals for travel hackers looking to get the best possible prices for their flights. By searching through a multitude of travel sites, online deals and cheap flights Google will present you with a list of some of the most affordable flights available for your destination and dates. (Excluding Southwest Flights which are not searchable on aggregate sites.)

And if you don't find a flight that suits your budget, you can set up a Google Alert to send you a notification as soon as the price drops! Google Flights is not the only resource you can use to find the cheapest flight tickets, but it is always a great place to start when searching for cheap flights, hotels, and vacation packages and will allow you to compare prices easily and quickly.

To make sure you get the best cheap flights deals, there are certain tips and hacks you'll need to know to make the most of all the features Google Flights can offer.

 

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Editor's Choice

Intro offer

75,000 Miles

Annual Fee

$95.00

Recommended Credit

690-850ExcellentGood

75,000 Miles

Capital One Venture.png

 

What are the Benefits of Using Google Flights to Books Airline Tickets?

Save Time on Your Internet Research - Google Flights will quickly present you with a list of cheap airfare options which may take you an hour or two to pull together with your online research.

 

Search for Available Flights Using the Google Explore Map - You can see the cheapest flights available for desolations close to your departure airport within your chosen date range.

 

Search Flights Leaving or Departing from Up to 7 Airports - You can increase your chances of accessing cheap airlines and flights by inputting a search including up to 7 departure and destination airports.

 

Search for Cheap Flights up to a Year Ahead - You can access cheap flights up to 12 months ahead of your departure.

 

Check the Carbon Footprint of Your Flights - Google Flights will let you know the environmental impact of each flight so you can factor this into your decision-making.

 

What Do You Need to Be Aware of When Using Google Flights for Cheap Flights Deals?

Google Flights Doesn't Display All Your Flight Options - Southwest Airlines are not searchable on Google Flights so you'll need to do your own separate search on their website to compare prices before making your final choice.

 

Google Flights Doesn't Pull Info from All Websites for Cheap Flights - Google Flights will only present you with the lowest price available on the biggest websites for cheap flights and doesn't generally include possible cheaper fares from smaller travel companies.

 

Sometimes Displays Expired Cheap Flight Deals - Now and then you may find that a great deal you click on has already expired and Google has not yet updated its data to reflect this.

 

You Won't Find Many Mistake Fares - If you are looking to take advantage of mistake fares (where a travel site has mistakenly priced their tickets lower than intended), then are unlikely to find many of these on Google Flights. You will find it is usually a smaller Online Travel Agency that will be displaying these offers on their websites.

 

How to Use Google Flights to Find Cheap Flights

Below we will talk you through how to access the best prices websites for cheap flights on offer using Google Flights.

Step 1 - Fill in Your Destination and Dates

Your First Step is to fill in your Departure Location and Destination as well as your dates for travel.

Google flight search

Remember, if you want to see the flight price options for more than one airport in your area, you can select more than one departure and destination airport for your search.

You can either tick the boxes of the available airports or input the airport codes (eg. LAX and BUR) into the search bar separated by comments.

Remember, if you want to see the flight price options for more than one airport in your area, you can select more than one departure and destination airport for your search.

You can either tick the boxes of the available airports or input the airport codes (eg. LAX and BUR) into the search bar separated by comments.

Google flight search

You can also filter your search results based on various categories to narrow down your presented results. These filters include flight times, carbon emissions, and duration of flights.

Google Flight Search

Step 2 - Use Google Flights Calendar to Discover the Cheapest Departure Dates

Click on the Calendar Icon to see a day-by-day breakdown of the month to see which days offer a good deal for flights.

Google Flight Search

You can look at the month of your departure dates, or if you can be a little bit more flexible with your dates to save money, click on the right arrow to check the prices for the following month.

Google Flight Search

Step 3 - Select Your Date of Departure and Return

Once you have chosen your departure date, you will be able to select your return date and then press done. Google flights will then show you the search results for your flight. The best deals will be presented at the top of the page with other options listed below.

Google Flight Search

Make sure to scroll down to check your other options further down the page which may offer better routing or times which are better for you.

Google Flight Search

Step 4 - Select Your Chosen Cheap Flight Ticket on Google Flights

Click on your pick for your departing flight. You will then be directed to a list of your return flight options.

Google Flight Search

You will then be presented with a final confirmation page of your selected flights.

Google Flight Search

Step 5 - Confirm Your Booking with the Airline

Google Flights is a search engine website for cheap flights, but not a travel booking site. Once you confirm your choice of booking you will be directed to the relevant airline to make payment for your tickets.

Google Flight Search

 

How to Use Google Explore Flight Maps to Find Cheap Flight Deals

If you are flexible about your travel departure airport or destination you can use Google Explore Flight Maps to discover the best deals on destinations nearby.

You can input both a departure location and destination to be presented with a visual map of the best deals available nearby. This is a fantastic way to discover affordable last-minute trips if you are not totally married to their vacation destination.

Google Flight Search

How to Set Google Alerts for Flight Price Drops

If you can't find the right cheap flights, Google will allow you to set an alert so that you are notified if the price lowers. All you need to do is make sure you are logged into your Google account, input your travel dates and then click on the Track Prices option beneath the input boxes.

 

Summary - How to Use Google Flights to Find Cheap Flights

As you can see above using Google Flights to find cheap flights deals is a fairly simple, quick, and intuitive process. If you are looking for a fast and hassle-free way to find cheap flights Google flights is hard to compete with. As such it is a fantastic place to start your search, but it always pays to supplement your search results by researching other websites for cheap flights as well.

When you are searching for cheap flight deals on Google, remember you can input searches for more than one departure airport and destination to ensure you are presented with a wider range of flight options. And if you can be flexible about dates, remember to use the calendar to check if there are cheaper flight days near your input date.

When looking for cheap flights Google will save you a lot of time and hassle in individually researching flights from different airlines and will allow you more time and money to spend on booking fun activities at your vacation destination!

Girl at the airport