Google Flights launches feature to help you find “cheapest” airfares

Looking to book cheap flights over some upcoming holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas?

A new Google Flights feature launched today gives travelers access to more affordable flight options via a new “Cheapest” tab.

The new feature comes as October was found to be the best time to book U.S. flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Google’s latest travel trends report.

Starting from this week, passengers can enter their trip details on Google Flights and click on the “Cheapest” tab to see “more options with even lower prices,” the search engine giant noted in a blog post.

A spokesperson for the company told Newsweek: “Launching globally over the next two weeks, this update will show more options with lower prices, including additional offers from online travel agents and more ‘creative’ itineraries, like longer layovers or booking different parts of the trip across multiple airlines or booking providers.”

Search interest for “layover flight(s)” reached an all-time high in January this year, the spokesperson noted, according to data from Google Trends.

The new Google Flights feature allows travelers who don’t mind multiple layovers or giving up other conveniences to get the cheapest flight deals.

“For example, there could be a third-party booking site offering a lower price than the airline itself. Or you might be able to save by flying back to a different airport that’s in the same city you departed from—like flying out of New York’s LaGuardia [Airport] and returning to JFK [John F. Kennedy International Airport],” the blog post explained.

According to Google’s 2024 travel trends report shared last month, “on average, nonstops have been 25 percent more expensive than flights with stops,” while the cheapest days of the week to fly were found to be Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, which have been 13 percent cheaper than flying on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

“If you exclude international trips, the potential savings jump to 20 percent,” the company said.

The travel trends report also found that for those traveling in the U.S. for Thanksgiving, “prices have been lowest 45 days before departure, and the low price range is 26-59 days out.” So, if you’re flying right before or after the holiday, the best time to book cheap flights would have been early October, the report said.

For those flying around the U.S. for Christmas, “the best time to book cheap Christmas flights is the back half of October,” the report found, as “prices have been lowest 58 days before departure, and the low price range is 36-72 days out.”

Looking ahead to spring breaks, for domestic trips in March or April, “the lowest prices have been 44 days before departure, and the low price range is 33-59 days out,” according to the report.

Those traveling domestically in July or August may be able to bag some last-minute bargains for summer vacations. “Prices have been the lowest 21 days before departure, and the low price range is 13-43 days out,” the report said.

The latest Google Flights announcement comes as travel is expected to reach “record highs” this year, with global tourism spending forecast to hit $2 trillion, as per a December 2023 survey by Euromonitor International, the market research firm.

According to an October report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total passenger demand in August was up 8.6 percent, compared with the same month last year, while the August load factor—the percentage of available seats an airline sells on its flights—was 86.2 percent, marking a new record high.

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