Google is making it easier to find cheap flights for the holidays

October 17, 2024

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Key Takeaways

Google Flights introduces “Cheapest” tab, sorting flights based on the best price, but some options could sacrifice convenience.
The update aims to help users find cheaper flights through third-party booking sites and alternative airports.
Be warned, “creative itineraries” may include longer layovers and self-transfers, but the savings could be worth it.

Google Flights is my favorite way to find flights. Every trip I’ve ever been on has been booked using it, and it’s saved me hundreds of dollars and countless hours of scratching my head in frustration trying to book flights. With the holidays just around the corner, many people may be looking to book flights soon to see friends and family.

To help travelers get to their destination as cheaply as possible, Google has made it easier than ever thanks to its new “Cheapest” tab on Google Flights. The “Cheapest” tab in Google Flights sorts flight options based on the best possible price, but the options may not be the most convenient.

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How Google Flight’s new Cheapest option works

Google says “creative itineraries” will help lower flight costs

Google

Google’s default algorithm lists flights considering a range of different factors, such as flight time, connections, and a balance of price vs. convenience. The “Cheapest” tab will help users find cheaper flights through a variety of ways, such as finding the flight on a third-party booking site offering the flight at a lower cost than the airline itself.

Google says other options could also help lower flight costs, such as flying back to a different airport that’s in the same city you departed from. Google cited flying out of New York City from LaGuardia, but landing back at JFK to potentially save money.

The update has begun to roll out now, and Google says it will be available globally over the next two weeks, so you may or may not see the new tab on Google Flights just yet.

At the end of the day, the option gives people more choice, and more choice is never a bad thing.

Be warned though: Google admits that some of the options under the cheapest tab may have “creative itineraries” that could include longer layovers and self-transfers. Self-transfers require passengers to collect and recheck bags during a layover, rather than the airlines doing it themselves. Another way Google says you may get a cheaper flight is by booking different legs of the trip on multiple booking sites to cash in as many savings as possible.

With the holiday season around the corner, Google’s new “Cheapest” tab on Google Flights is a welcome addition, and I see some of the tradeoffs to getting cheaper flights as potentially worth it. At the end of the day, the option gives people more choice, and more choice is never a bad thing.