Google Flights: Best Tool For Comparing Airfare, Booking Airline Tickets

I appreciate all this but there’s a hole in the market for finding flights. If anyone knows a way please advise me. A sweet spot I prefer and use frequently is flying to Europe in business on redeyes and back in premium economy on day flights. This is often cost effective. The only way I’ve found to do it is by clicking thru on each airline website, you can’t search for them there either typically.

It’s just a shame how Google has dumbed down ITA matrix since they acquired it, to basically force me over to Google Flights. ITA used to be far more powerful tool than GF is now

Between Adolf Trump, Musk, Bozo and Google, they are attempting a takeover of the world economy and everyone’s personal data too boot.

I love Google Flights, but haven't figured out how to track flights by only selected airlines?

What about skyscanner? They generally show cheaper flights vs google.

You have to filter it each time, it resets to "All Airlines" every time you change something 🙁

Amen!!

Ben, this is a fine "User Guide 101," but you completely missed the architectural reality of why Google Flights dominates: the QPX pricing engine and its Low Fare Cache.

The instant calendar and "Explore" map aren't actually searching flights in real-time—that would be computationally impossible and prohibitively expensive in terms of GDS query fees. Instead, they query a massive, pre-computed graph of billions of fare constructions that Google solves for daily. This is a computer science marvel, but it explains the one flaw you didn't mention: Cache Coherency. When a price jumps the moment you click "Select," it’s not a conspiracy; it’s the latency between Google's cached solution and the airline's live Passenger Service System (PSS) rejecting the inventory query.

More importantly, you missed the single greatest "under the hood" lever: Point of Sale (POS) Injection. By manually manipulating the &gl= (Country) parameter in the URL, you aren't just changing the currency display. You are forcing the QPX engine to price the itinerary against fare tariffs filed specifically for that local market. I routinely save 15-20% on international itineraries by forcing the POS to the origin country (e.g., gl=VN or gl=BR), essentially bypassing the higher-yield fare buckets airlines file for US-based IP addresses. It is the only tool that allows for this level of specific fare construction without a GDS terminal.

Thanks for that info! So that is why Google Flights will say the price changes a lot of times when you click on the actual flight you want. Even when you refresh the page it'll show the old price and then the new price with a follow up click.

Helped a ton!

@NickW, that's good info, thanks! Is there a difference between manipulating the url to enter the origin country code and selecting the location at the bottom of the Google Flights page (Location drop-down)?

@Ricky Technically, they trigger the exact same parameter (SaleCountry), but the difference is persistence. The UI dropdown is "sticky" (it sets a browser cookie). If you change your location to "Egypt" to check a fare and forget to switch it back, your future searches for domestic US flights might default to local tax displays or restrict you to local payment methods, which can trigger fraud alerts with your bank. The &gl= URL hack is superior because it is ephemeral—it forces the Point of Sale for that specific tab only without polluting your long-term browser preferences.
Also, a critical distinction for the gallery: Do not confuse the Currency dropdown with the Location dropdown. Changing Currency just applies a forex calculator to the US price. It does not re-price the ticket. Changing Location forces the engine to actually re-query the fare filing system for that specific market's inventory buckets. If you aren't changing the Location specifically, you aren't actually accessing the local fares.

That's a common observation, but it usually comes down to inventory quality assurance, not actual airline pricing.

Skyscanner (and Momondo) act as "meta-scrapers" that pull data from hundreds of obscure Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), some of which are essentially just a laptop in a basement. They often display "cached" fares—prices that existed 4 hours ago but are effectively gone—or "ghost inventory" that errors out when you actually try to pay. They cast a wider net, capturing high-risk/high-reward booking channels that Google deliberately filters out.

Google Flights (built on the ITA Matrix engine) prioritizes computable reliability. If a fare construction cannot be validated against a current GDS filing or a direct airline API with a high probability of successful ticketing, Google won't show it. You aren't seeing "more expensive" flights on Google; you are seeing "actually bookable" flights versus Skyscanner's theoretical ones.

If you have a high tolerance for risk and customer service nightmares, Skyscanner wins on raw numbers. If you want to know what you can actually buy right now without a "fare no longer available" error, Google wins.

Surprisingly, Expedia actually has some good tools for research etc too.

Google flights is horrible when using cities with multiple airports, instead of airport codes. Try searching for round-trip leaving NYC, then select an EWR outbound flight and now you are locked to EWR for your return. Instead you have to select multi-city and spell out all the airports. Frustrating AF that google hasn't been able to figure this out (and that people are still praising google in spite of this major flaw.)

I’m the other wayaround!
Y on the shorter flights NYC to CDG/BCN/LHR. J on the daytime return flight (1h longer).

When stupid idiots were created you were first in line.

I find with points getting harder to find with airlines blocking partner availability or charging dynamic pricing I find myself buying a lot more trans Atlanta business class flights with cash. Google flights quickly can show a map of fares for my dates and I use that to compare with point options. I often find flights with cash in J for .5 - 1 cent per points so use cash instead of points. Only problem with cash is busi ess class change and cancelation fees are high compared to points on many of the flights I find.

For some reason, when I try altering the &gl= thing at the end of the url (for example, changing it from from US to IN when searching for a SEA-BOM round-trip), I only get almost the exact same amount displayed in another currency, with a few cents off here and there likely due to rounding. What am I doing wrong?

Mark, but surely you must remember that you raced to the front of the queue, elbowing the aforementioned numpties out of your way and slamming the door firmly closed in my face. I benefited from the new issue of brain cells whereas you missed out …. Yes?

Mark, but surely you must remember that you raced to the front of the queue, elbowing the aforementioned numpties out of your way and slamming the door firmly closed in my face. I benefited from the new issue of brain cells whereas you missed out …. Yes?