The definitive rankings of flight-booking sites
Earlier this week, Expedia announced that it would be serving up several new features in its search results, including an accurate list of those delightful ancillary fees that most carriers add to their ticket prices. As the site's users select flights, they will be able to see the cost of checking a bag, the cost of canceling a flight and what is — and is not — included in that base fare.
With the addition of its new "Upgrade Options" technology, Expedia is attempting to further differentiate itself from the other flight comparison sites. But is that enough to make it the best? We've ranked the five best sites when it comes to booking your next flight. In reverse order from No. 5 to No.1:
5. Skypicker: The Prague-based startup caught everyone's attention when it suggested that it could offer savings of up to 90% on the cost of airfare. And Skypicker's proprietary "ticket buying algorithm" pulls flight data from more than 150 carriers, including smaller or budget carriers that might not be included in other searches. But the downside can potentially be a seriously inconvenient one: when it Frankensteins your super-cheap flight itinerary, it might not be anywhere close to a direct flight — and it may take you upwards of 30 hours to reach your destination. For example, I found a ridiculous $365 fare from Charlotte to London-Gatwick. The problem? It would take 34 hours and involve an overnight layover in Trenton, followed by a a literal all-day stay in Fort Lauderdale. But if you're seriously into budget travel – and consider overnighting in airports to be part of the adventure – then go for it.
Pros: Cheapest fares; includes 150 airlines in search results; calendar displays all fares for a full month
Cons: Meandering itineraries; direct booking feature not yet available in the U.S.; long layovers; all night in Trenton
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4. Hipmunk has the most beautiful interface of any flight search site, with an easy-to-interpret layout that shows flight times, carriers and layovers – and they're all sortable by Agony (a combo of price, duration and stops), Price, Duration and Takeoff and Landing Times. But although Hipmunk allows you to book hotels directly through the site, you can't do that for flights. Where Hipmunk excels, though, is with its Trip Planning feature. It allows you to favorite (yes, I'm using that as a verb) searches, flights and destinations so they're easily accessible later. The information is also shared between all of your devices, so if you start planning your next vacation while you're bored at work, you can find that info on your phone when you get home.
Pros: Easy to plan future trips and share that information with coworkers or friends; simple and beautiful to use
Cons: No direct bookings; most fares available on other sites as well; better used for hotel bookings
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3. Kayak : This week, Expedia's orange-hued competitor launched its own campaign to differentiate itself from other travel search sites by releasing a series of "Travel Hacks" videos that highlight the benefits of its Explore feature and show how its own Price Forecast tool works — and those two features are worth highlighting. Kayak's recommendations to "Buy" or "Wait" can already help you find the best fares (an in-depth analysis on FiveThirtyEight called its algorithm "amazing at capturing value"). Meanwhile, Explore allows users to set a budget and then see which destinations make the cut, allowing them to get out of town even when they're unsure where their bank account allows them to go.
Pros: Price forecasting tool good at predicting best time to buy; Explore shows destinations you might not have considered; Trips feature makes it easy to create and share itineraries
Cons: Booking sites' hidden airfares (that only say you're booking with a "Major Airline") can be annoying
2. Expedia 's big announcement this week will help users un-bundle each part of those bundled airfares and it hopes to further its flight search experience by adding Price Trend and Price Prediction information; the first of those features would show how fares for a user's recently searched destinations have fluctuated during a 14-day period, while the second would calculate the probability of a price change for a flight, and suggest the best time for pressing the "Book Flight" option (which sounds a lot like what Kayak already does). Right now, Expedia's new "Upgrade Options" technology is available on Delta flights in the United States — a good choice, since Delta's Basic Economy fares include a long list of restrictions — and Airberlin in Europe.
Pros: Now provides information about baggage fees cost to cancel a flight and other fees; Scratchpad saves searches and allows them to be accessed from any device
Cons: Limited carriers for Upgrade Options; can it really out-Kayak Kayak when it comes to predicting fares?
1. Where do we even start with Google Flights? Using my Charlotte-to-London example, it not only told me that changing my dates would help me save $162, but when I did select a departure flight, it displayed information about what kind of comfort (or discomfort) I'd be in during the flight, providing details about legroom, Wi-Fi and in-seat power options. If you don't have a set destination, you can also search by country or even by continent to see the best deals from your departure airport, as well as getting a full calendar (and a bar graph) of fares to eyeball, ensuring that you're booking the right dates.
Pros: Makes it easy to see best flight option based on cost and comfort; allows search by region or continent (and the "Get Lucky" feature helps the really undecided); makes it easy to create multi-city itineraries
Cons: Umm...