Google Flights is the ultimate traveller’s tool

By Arnout Nuijt

If you are a frequent flyer you may have struggled more than once to find the information you wanted on the net when booking your next trip. Try for instance to find out from what airports you can fly to Perugia for that short holiday in Umbria. You would have to search databases like Amadeus or Expedia and type in various departure points to find out whether you can fly from there. But you would also have to try all days of the week for each departure and destination combination. Flight search works like that.  It’s a tedious and frustrating job. And then these travel sites hardly ever include budget airlines, something you will be definitely looking for. So, you search all of those sites as well and it will cost you an hour or so to find out all your flight options.

No longer. Google has come up with a travel tool that solves all of these problems. First, to find out what flights there are from  which city, try typing for instance in the google search bar: Rotterdam Rio de Janeiro flights. Google will show you a table with all possibilities. Google also includes low cost carriers: Try typing: Amsterdam Lisbon flights. You will get KLM, TAP as well as Transavia and EasyJet flights, plus indirect ones as well, as well times and weekdays.  This is a fantastic way to plan your trip, whether a holiday or business one.

 But there is more. Go to google.com/flights. There you will find a complete flight schedule, that gives you all options, including prices. I tried Rotterdam – New York and found some amazing options, like a 500 Euro plus flight with American Airlines (with transfer in LHR) right from my doorstep to the Big Apple. Google Flights also provides you with a clickable map, showing destinations from your home city on your continent, with prices and links.

It may be that Google is still working on this application, but it appears close to perfection. We will be following it closely.