By Maria Tovar

Google announced to its customers that it would be adding a new feature to its aerial search engine, Google Flights. The software helps users find air flights at the lowest prices available to any destination in the world. Google Flights seems to be the perfect tool for this summer season.

Google Flights was launched in September of 2011, with the purpose of giving Google users, and other customers, an easier way to find air flights at affordable prices. “Google Flights” is a search engine, just like regular Google. The difference between the Google search engine and Google Flights is that Google Flights works specifically for airline travel.

The software provides users a map of the world with the capital cities and other popular destinations labeled. The main page has a list of the most popular destinations, with pictures of them, and the approximate flight times for the different destinations. The user selects the dates he or she wants to travel, then selects the destination; the software gives the user an estimate of prices for the selected dates. The software also gives the user a range of different airlines to select from. The individual has the option to choose a flight with no stops or several stops. Google Flights also has a graph that shows the best time to travel and when the tickets are the cheapest. Finally, the user chooses the desired flight, selects it, and Google opens a link to the direct air flight company to complete the booking.

Late February 2015 Google Flights was updated, and Google announced that it would add a new feature to its successful software. Google Flights will now include information about the air flights with and without Wi-Fi. The newest addition might not seem as important for many users, but some people, like businessmen and students, can use this feature to do work during flight time. Other customers, like children and teenagers, can watch Netflix, enjoy a good movie, or read the newspaper online.

Google Flights has other features, which can help users who know what they want when it comes to booking trips. “Google Flights” has the ability to compare different flight options to different destinations to see which one is more convenient. Users can also compare flight prices during different times of the year. Sometimes summer and winter tickets are the most expensive compared to other times of the year, like spring. Users outside of the United States can also change the currency from US dollars to other currencies like Euros or Pesos.

The benefit of using Google Flights is the wide range of options to many destinations. Often times, customers avoid searching for destinations like Tokyo or London because they think that the prices are unaffordable, but with Google Flights there is a variety of prices to anywhere in the world. For undecided travelers, there is also an option to explore areas of the world. For example, if a user has the idea he or she wants to travel to Asia, the individual can click the option to show the prices for the whole Asian continent. Another benefit of using Google Flights is the ability to see the most popular destinations. In case the individual does not know where to travel, he or she can see which are the most visited places in the world. Another benefit of using the software is the ability to plan the trip ahead. The user can also save favorite destinations, so whenever he or she is ready to purchase the tickets, the individual may do so.

The response to Google Flights from users has been positive overall. College student Adriana Chopite said, “I think Google Flights is super useful and amazingly helpful when it comes to booking flights.” Businessman Luis Santoyo said, “I use Google Flights all the time, and it gives me the lowest rates I can find.”

Spring break and summer are really good times to enjoy some time off and get away from the every day routine. “Google Flights” makes it easier for users to plan trips. Instead of going to a travel agency or booking the flight without help, Google Flights is an easy and fast way to purchase airplane tickets.

Header photo by Daniel Pascoal (flick creative commons license).