I’ve given up on a seamless airport experience, especially if I need to catch a connecting flight.
Airports are facing a myriad of challenges, from a lack of air traffic controllers to issues like lost luggage to the perennial risk of missing flights. In other words, it’s become very common for travelers to experience problems while in transit.
But that’s not the worst part of traveling by plane for me.
I’m even having trouble finding affordable flights and completing the booking problem.
I’m relatively hopeful that airports and airlines will stabilize in a few years. Most problems, especially those related to staffing, are the direct result of pandemic-era layoffs. In other words, most problems are solvable.
But I worry about the future of finding affordable flights. Like airports, deal-driven platforms have taken a hit in terms of customer experience and even functionality.
Fortunately, I’ve found a solution that works for me. One that helped me save on airfare without compromising on the quality of the experience or the validity of the booking.
Welcome to my new favorite way to book airfare: Google Flights and Booking.
The basics of booking flights
In case you missed my series on how to book cheap flights, there are a few tricks that any traveler can use.
Some involve avoiding dynamic pricing features using VPNs, while others focus on flying on the day of major holidays. Most of my advice revolves around understanding how airports and airlines work, along with discount booking platforms like Kayak and eDreams.
Those discount booking platforms are an important part of the equation… even if they aren’t without their faults. (More on this below.)
Deal sites are almost uniformly cheaper than purchasing tickets directly from an airline. And given many travelers (especially millennials and Gen Z) are on an ardent hunt for savings, signing up for an airline loyalty program probably isn’t a viable option.
So, how can travelers find cheap flights on platforms that don’t ramp up the total with price hikes and other sneaky tricks?
The problem with booking on deal sites
The issue with booking airfare on discount platforms is that they use dynamic pricing features to continually ramp up prices.
Want to switch out one of your flights for another? Price hike. Ready to finalize your purchase? Price hike. What about hitting the ‘back’ button to make sure you selected the right amenities? Price hike.
The closer you are to paying for your booking, the steeper those price hikes often become. (Airlines know you’re close to sealing the deal.)
Price hikes aside, discount platforms also have very low customer satisfaction ratings. Flights might be canceled without warning, causing a traveler’s entire trip to be swiped.
In fact, that happened to me recently.
I booked a round-trip from Barcelona to Milan using eDreams. I paid for my booking after three price hikes, received a confirmation email, and then went on with my day. Two weeks later, I went to check on my flight and realized my booking had actually never actually gone through.
I found an email notifying me that the original booking hadn’t gone through. Why? I’m not sure. The only explanation was an email with the original flights marked out with red with the word ‘rechazada’ (rejected in Spanish) next to them.
To be fair, I missed that second email notifying me that the booking wasn’t complete. Additionally, I was fully reimbursed for the charges without any problem. And I’ve had plenty of time since then to rebook my flight.
But the core issue for me is that these experiences make chip away at my trust in booking sites. (It’s not hard to see why many travelers are handing over this type of responsibility to travel agents.)
But there’s a silver lining to this airfare madness.
When I rebooked my round trip from Barcelona to Milan, I decided to stick with the same routine—but I opted for different providers. Not only was my ticket cheaper, but my booking hasn’t been canceled. Here’s how I did it.
The holy grail of cheap bookings: Google Flights & Booking
Google Flights works similarly to other discount platforms—just with a slightly cleaner interface.
I used Google Flights to shop around for the same offers that I saw on eDreams and Kayak. The major difference was that I had the option to finish the booking through Booking.com after selecting my flights.
Compared to at-a-glance estimates from eDreams and Kayak, Booking’s offer was around $50 more expensive. As someone who has used Booking in the past with consistently good results, I was encouraged rather than dissuaded.
If Booking was charging more, it had to be for good reason. (I mean it when I say trust is important.)
As I finished booking my flights (with the same airlines as the original eDreams booking), I wasn’t up-charged for a single thing. Not a single price hike—and, for whatever reason, I also wasn’t charged for carry-on luggage.
In the end, the booking was almost $75 cheaper than the original.
If you’re looking to book reliable and affordable airfare, I highly suggest you search for flights using Google Flights, then finish the booking via Booking.
*Caveat: Unfortunately, Booking isn’t available for all flights. But Google Flights offers a pretty straightforward price overview, so you should be able to find another good option. They also have a price evaluator, which lets you know what it’s normal to pay for a similar booking.