A new version of Google Flights will show travellers when they should buy airline tickets depending on where and when they want to travel.
Tech-savvy travellers have long used Google Flights to compare ticket costs depending on the day or time of travel. The current iteration also indicates whether prices are high, low or typical compared with historic prices.
However, the question remains: if you hold off booking flights, will prices go up or down?
Now, Google Flights will indicate the cheapest day to fly and the cheapest time to buy tickets.
In a blog post about the feature, Google Flights group product manager James Byers said, that while it was typically best to book in advance, that wasn’t always the best decision.
“Flight prices do change frequently and there are often low fares to be found with the right tools (and some perseverance).”
The new feature should help to answer the big question for travellers: Should they buy now or take the risk that prices might come down? Photo / 123rf
Byers said the ability to see how airline prices fluctuated day-to-day was helpful but the “age-old question” remained: Should someone book now or gamble on lower prices later?
The new feature will indicate when prices have been the lowest, depending on selected dates and destinations.
In the blog post, Buyers offers an example of someone searching in September for a round-trip flight between New York and Miami on December 21.
In response, Google Flights states: “The cheapest time to book is usually later, September 13 - December 7.”
According to the response, “prices are currently high”, and cheap fares on that route in December tend to show up one to three months before departure.
Google Flights also indicates that the traveller could save US$59 by booking at the right time.
At this point, Buyers said travellers would find out whether it was best to buy tickets then or wait till closer to the departure time.
“Either way, you can make that decision with a greater sense of confidence.”
Another impressive feature will be a price guarantee badge. This will appear on an airfare when Google Flights data indicates the price will not drop before departure.
If you book, Google Flights will refund the difference via Google Pay.
This feature will be limited to a pilot programme for “Book on Google” itineraries that depart from the US.
