The tool can identify the best date to travel, the ideal time to purchase and the most convenient destinations
Google Flights is an airline ticket price tracking and comparison platform available to Brazilian users since 2015. The goal is to help travelers find the cheapest fares with the best possible cost-benefit ratio. In most cases, the platform takes the buyer directly to the airline’s official website or to an online travel agency (OTA).
New to the tool is the “Ideal Time to Buy” section, rolling out in August 2023. Through it, Google Flights identifies trends in price fluctuations and indicates the ideal time to get the best discounts.
One of the ways to access the platform is through Google search: when you type the name of a city or country into the tool, simply click the “More” button and then “Flights”, and you will be taken to the page Google’s Flights page to that destination.
Discover the main features of the platform to take advantage of the best prices when purchasing airline tickets:
To explore
The “Explore” tool, in addition to being very useful, can also serve as entertainment: you can compare in a very visual way, using a map, the lowest ticket prices for each destination.
The map can be enlarged to check prices in nearby cities, or reduced to include tickets from all over the world, to discover new, perhaps convenient, destinations.
In the example above, the map is reduced to just the Florida region of the United States; Here you can see the price difference between different destinations. In this case it is more worth going to Miami airport than going to Orlando.
Search filters
Once you’ve decided on your destination, there are some filter options available to tailor your flight options to your trip needs. The most used is the price filter, to only show tickets that fall within your budget.
But beyond the ticket price, there are several ways to customize your search through filters: number of stopovers, options that include checked baggage, desired time of day and which airport to connect at are some of the options.
You can also filter flights with lower carbon emissions in the “Emissions” field. Google uses estimates established by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Using this filter, Google Flights will show the results that best match your search, with flights highlighted in “Best outbound flights” and “Best return flights”. But you can also see all the options by scrolling the screen, and sort them by other criteria such as price, flight duration and carbon emissions.
Calendar
Having flexible travel dates can go a long way in making airline tickets affordable. In this sense, Google Flights can help by identifying the days with the most convenient flights in the “Calendar” section.
It works like this: in a table the columns indicate the departure date and the rows indicate the return date of the trip. Cross-referencing them shows the sum of the lowest price of the two tickets, comparing the days that pay less, marked in red, and the cheapest days, in green.
In the example above, the most rewarding dates are departures on December 6 and 7, while returning on December 11 is the cheapest option. The days that do not count, marked in red, are the departures on December 8th and 10th, with the return on the 15th and 16th of the same month.
Price chart
Another way to view return ticket prices, in a more visual way, is through the price graph. Simply select the number of days your trip will last and the sum of the round trip and return costs will be represented through the graph.
In the graph above, which shows the prices of a trip to New York, you can see the difference between a trip taken in November, which is cheaper, and one at the end of December, with higher prices.
Ideal time to purchase
In addition to the date you choose to leave and return from your trip, the date you purchase your ticket can also make a difference in terms of savings. The latest innovation implemented by the platform, which debuted in August 2023, reveals the “ideal time to purchase”.
Just below the best flight options, the platform indicates whether prices on that date are normal, highlighting the common range for that destination and whether prices are higher or lower than the current price. Furthermore, Google Flights informs you how far in advance of your travel date is recommended to guarantee advantageous prices.
A graph with the search history of the last 60 days also helps to better understand the change in ticket prices. This way it is much easier to avoid a trap or a false promotion, since the trend of the value usually charged becomes very clear.
In this case, prices for travel to Rio de Janeiro were as expected, but Google Flights indicates that prices tend to decrease between November and February.
Monitor prices
Haven’t found the prices you want yet? Google Flights also has a solution to this: through the platform it is possible to activate price alerts for certain destinations and dates. Therefore, Google will notify you via email when tickets are priced lower than normal. You must have a Gmail account to receive notifications.
To activate it is very simple: just go to “Price monitoring”, immediately under the search filters. You can choose whether you want to be notified for specific days or whether a date works for you.
To find all trips with price alerts enabled, just click on the three bars symbol in the top left corner of the screen. Then, select “Tracked Flight Prices” and all the trips you are tracking will be listed.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
