Michael fell in love with points and miles back in 2014 and since then has built up a vast knowledge of award programs and has striven to show readers how to receive the maximum value when using their...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
37 comments
Dave Hofeldt
May 06, 2018
What currency is used for overseas flights purchased from US browser location? For example, you want to book a flight from Sydney to Cairns, Australia — do you see prices in US dollars, or Australian dollars?
Alex Miller
May 06, 2018
I’m pretty sure you can pay in either US or Aussie $’s, my preference would be to pay in USD.
Ines Ligron
June 02, 2018
Hello, I bought tickets online (Norwegian/Easyjet)
I called the airlines and was told that I must make the change with my travel agent, that I cannot do it directly with them. In this case, it is Google Flights as my ticket was bought using their service as a travel agency.
But I can not find any way to contact Google Flights to change my reservation.
Do you have any suggestion please?
Ines
Erin Miller
June 05, 2018
Hi Ines – Google Flights does not directly book any fares. This is likely why you can’t find a phone number to call and address your booking.
Google Flights is a big metasearch engine which means it aggregates tons of information to give you all of the options you’re looking for. When you select your desired flights and are given a price, Google Flights then directs you either to the airline itself, or an OTA (online travel agency) that is advertising said fare.
Google Flights has made this a pretty seamless process, so it’s likely you were redirected to an OTA and didn’t quite pick up on that. It happens to a lot of people!
We suggest taking another look at your official confirmation e-mail for your flights, then contacting the OTA which sent you the e-mail.
Hope this helps! 🙂
David Earl
June 08, 2018
What has happened to https://www.google.com/flights/explore ? I am not seeing it as of today June 8. I would use this tool to judge places to go in a region and the best time to go. I hope google did not end that page.
Michael McHugh
June 08, 2018
Hi David
Google recently integrated a new Google Flights platform. Here’s the link to the old platform https://www.google.com/flights/?f=0
Hunter
July 12, 2018
Are you still able to access the old interface. I tried your link and it sent me to the new site.
I can’t seem to locate the map with prices to every airport in the new interface. Thanks
Christine Krzyszton
July 12, 2018
Hunter, the map with prices can be accessed on the new interface by clicking on the menu which is represented by three short horizontal lines in the upper left-hand corner next to “Google Flights” in the blue bar at the top of the page. There are options such as : Flights, Explore, and Tracked Prices. You will need to eliminate the destination in order for the map to appear. Or, you can type in an area such as “Europe”, “South America”, etc. and the map will appear. (This answer was edited to include the information to remove the destination>) Hope this helps.
Steve Miller
November 08, 2018
As soon as you select Explore Map, the destination airport disappears. If you enter a destination on map view, the map disappears.
Bummer.
Heather Salber
June 19, 2018
Hello, While I can appreciate the new google flights I believe the older one that used to be accessed through the running man to be more user friendly when searching for other airports and other features. I would love to be able to use that one as well but the option seems to have disappeared. There were other links for awhile but those are gone as well. Can you help? Thanks
Charla Green
June 29, 2018
Ashamed to confess I have never used Google Flights before. Having read this post, I’ve immediately tried out this tool myself. And here you go—Naples, France will be my first destination chosen with Google Flights. Thanks for a great insight.
Bic
July 10, 2018
Strange error in pricing: I’ve been monitoring a multi-city flight from LAX to Abu Dhabi, via Istanbul on Turkish, one way, then Cairo to LAX, via Istanbul on the return. Google Flights says it’s $6371 on business class, but when I click on the price it then says “from $4971” – it sends me to Turkish airlines with several other options, but the one I wanted on their site is $4971. Not sure why G. Flights is giving me $6371.
Paul
July 28, 2018
I loved the feature of just typing two cities or airport codes in the search bar and get connections between the two cities with schedule. Somehow it doesn’t work since a couple of days….
Paul
August 07, 2018
So here is the thing.
I used to type in the Google search bar two airport codes or even two cities sometimes and I would get the timetable of the nonstop and other connections. I loved it because I could quickly see what nonstop existed and what airlines would otherwise fly the quickest, although you wouldn’t see anything else. This feature was tremendously useful.
Since about three weeks it doesn’t work and instead I get the prices directly. But I don’t want that.
Christine Krzyszton
August 15, 2018
Thanks for your comment, Paul. I’ve actually had the occasion to need this lately and just used the non-stop filter to give me the flights I wanted to see but unfortunately no actual timetables.
Saman
September 11, 2018
We prefer to have Sri Lankan rupee LKR in your currency list. otherwise, we have to open a separate google currency convert window and needs to check each time to calculate our cost and that is a pain.
Erin Miller
September 11, 2018
Hi Saman, please note that we are not Google or Google Flights, so we cannot address this request. We are Upgraded Points, a points & miles based website who publishes information related to points, miles, credit cards, travel, etc.
Laura Cohn
October 15, 2018
I’m trying to book a ticket for my son to return from Portugal. Google flights tells me there’s a flight through Air Europa for $464 and to call the airline to book. When I call the airline, the price with them (and on their website) is >$3,000, not a small difference. I understand that Google Flights is a search tool but in this case, I’m curious where they’re getting the price from that it’s so vastly different.
Henry Collins
October 19, 2018
Thanks for the review. It is very complete and extensive and perfectly summarizes the pros and cons of using the app.
Walter Campbell
November 06, 2018
I use Google Flights frequently. The fare for my date selected used to appear in U S dollars now it is in Mexican pesos. I prefer the US dollars. How can I change from pesos to U S dollars?
Thanks,
Walter
Christine Krzyszton
November 06, 2018
Hi Walter. That’s a great question because I’m sure others have experienced the same. In the upper left hand corner of the Google Flights page you’ll see 3 straight bars next to “Google Flights”. This is a menu. When you click on the 3 bars menu, you will see “Search flights,Explore map,Tracked prices,Change language,Change country,and Change currency. You can change the currency there. Hope this helps.
korbel
December 05, 2018
I’ve always used Google Flights for my International Travel. Most airlines’ booking sites are so complicated, it is almost impossible to use for what I want. Google flights can filter anything for you as the article has said. Then once directed to the airline website, it is purchase time.
Alex Miller
December 05, 2018
Hey Korbel – thank you for the comment and yes, we’re big fans of Google Flights too!
Robert
February 26, 2019
I’m considering a two-leg flight I found on Google Flights that shows Condor as the airline for the first leg and Lufthansa for the second. When I finish selecting the flights and go to book it, it shows me paying the full amount specifically to Condor. Can anyone shed light on how the booking process is supposed to work for trips using multiple airlines? Should I be paying just part of it to Condor, and then the rest separately to Lufthansa? Thanks.
Christine Krzyszton
February 26, 2019
Hi Robert. In this situation, your ticket is marketed and issued by Condor so you would be paying them for the entire ticket. The Lufthansa operated flight is what is called a codeshare flight meaning the airlines have a business arrangement to market and issue each other’s tickets. It is very common and legitimate. Here is some additional information regarding Condor codeshare flights: https://www.condor.com/us/flight-preparation/baggage-and-animals/regulations-for-flights-operated-by-other-airlines.jsp
Robert
February 26, 2019
Thanks so much for the quick reply and clear explanation, Christine. I really appreciate it.
Christine Krzyszton
February 26, 2019
My pleasure, Robert. Thanks for visiting and for your comment.
Cynthia
June 29, 2019
Hi Christine,
When you search Google flights and see a flight with 2 connections using different airlines to get to your destination – is there any sort of guarantee if first flight is delayed or cancelled?? As opposed to booking yourself on 2 different airlines and flights to get to your destination – then i fully understand the risk is all on me.
I understand that Google flights is not the booking agent – but wondering if when they search they pair airlines that work together in offering the flyer more security when dealing with connecting flights using different airlines.
Christine Krzyszton
June 29, 2019
Hi Cynthia. When you purchase the ticket you’re describing, there is one marketing carrier (airline). There may be more than one operating carrier, for example a flight on United and a flight on Lufthansa. The ticket may be marketed by either United or Lufthansa (or yet another airline). Airlines can share the responsibility (depending on the disruption) to get you to/from your destination if you should have trouble during your journey. If your United flight is delayed and you miss your Lufthansa connection, for example, United could book you on another Lufthansa flight. So yes, your ticket is more secure when all the flights are on one ticket (even if more than one operating carrier) than purchasing separate tickets using different airlines. Thank you for your question.
Debra
July 14, 2019
I’m using Google Flights to book a trip on United. I want to track the price for the flight but there’s no “Track Prices” button as you describe. Any idea why that button doesn’t show? Thanks!
Michael McHugh
July 15, 2019
Hi Debra!
You’ll need to select the flights that you want to book and then click the “track prices” radio button directly below the “total from price” shown for your flight.
Marc Benz
November 07, 2019
I love Google Flights and use it for all my travel planning. But for an upcoming trip in Sept. until Oct. 2020, the calendar stops at Oct. 2, 2020 and I cannot get any prices for return flights after that.
First I thought it is because many airlines only allow booking up to 11 months ahead, but then prices should at least be available until Oct. 8 because today
is Nov. 8, 2019.
Any ideas?
Christine Krzyszton
November 09, 2019
Hi Marc. It’s actually 330 days out. 330 days from November 8, 2019 is October 3, 2020. Here’s a handy calculator: https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadded.html?m1=11&d1=8&y1=2019&type=add&ay=&am=&aw=&ad=330&rec=
glen
November 08, 2019
It appears to me that google shares the search information back with the airlines themselves. For example, if you spend a decent amount of time (and the number of unique entries) searching an exact itinerary, and then come back and look at it the next day, the prices will go up. As if Google is telling them that people are interested in that flight, so you should increase the price (supply and demand). Have others noticed this?
Also, if so, if you use the track prices feature (to get notified when the price goes down) would that also trigger the alert to airlines that they might not want to lower it since people are looking at it?
Jarrod West
November 11, 2019
Hi Glen,
Airlines use a dynamic pricing model, so prices for flights can change dramatically day by day, even hour by hour, due to a wide variety of factors. Currently, there is zero evidence that browser cookies cause an increase in flight prices. Using a flight tracking feature will not cause the prices to rise either. Furthermore, searching for flights incognito will not help you find cheaper prices.
Sabrina
January 24, 2020
I’ve been trying to look for the right price on an itinerary for a couple of months from now. The first time I reviewed google flights price and compare it to the airline’s site, the price was exactly the same shown at google flights.
Today I received an alert for lower prices and when I tried to book at the airline web page from google flights, the prices were higher than the price shown on google. Is that normal? I don’t know if they’re outdated. At first, I thought maybe I wasn’t considering taxes but that wasn’t the case. I tried refreshing google flights page but the prices were still the same, lower than at the airline page (cheaper rate).
Jarrod West
January 28, 2020
Hi Sabrina,
That can happen at times. Google flights pulls its flight price data from airline websites directly and, sometimes, when a recent price change is made, it can take a bit for Google Flights to update to the new price.
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
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