# How To Book Flights Through Google | Cancel Google Flight

## How To Book Flights Through Google

There's a reason we recommend Google Flights above all others. It is the tool that we personally use to find cheap domestic and international flights.

But let's back up a bit and explain the basics. Let's start with the most important basics of all: Google Flights is not like Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, Skyscanner, or other popular travel search engines.


All those platforms are called online travel agencies or OTAs, from which you buy your flight, hotel, cruise or other trip. Google Flights, on the other hand, is a global distribution platform where airlines directly publish their airfare. And you will also find some rates on some of the major OTAs like Expedia or Priceline. It is truly a one stop shop for flights.

### Advantages of Google flights
Since Google Flights is not an OTA like the others, this really gives Google some major advantages over any other flight search engine:

* You can almost always book directly with the airline. You may see options to book with other sites, but cutting out the middleman when booking flights is more important than ever - I'd rather deal with an airline agent than the shoddy customer service of a small online travel agency .
* No flight search engine does a better job of displaying months of flights to help you find the cheapest flights possible, period. It'll even let you know if changing your travel dates by just a day or two could save you.
* Google Flights lets you search from multiple airports at once to find the cheapest airport to depart from (or fly into), and that's key when it comes to saving on international travel.
* As you'll see, it has unmatched features and functions for filtering your search results to find the flights you want and avoid the flights you don't.

### Cons of Google Flights
That being said, Google Flights isn't perfect. It's close, but there are some drawbacks:

* Because Google Flights mostly relies on listing airfares directly from the airlines, you can sometimes find cheaper fares through OTAs that make deals with the airlines to list heavily discounted flights.
* Google is constantly updating the inventory of available flights, but occasionally we see some issues with outdated prices. That means you might see a price on Google Flights only to click through and see a higher price tag.
* While most airlines are available through Google Flights, some don't list their fares there (or other search engines).
* Still, Google Flights is much better than the alternatives. At the very least, Google Flights should be your first stop for cheap flights. From there, you can always check to see if you can find a better deal on the flights you find via OTAs like Momondo or Skyscanner… and then decide if those extra savings are worth it.

### Getting started with Google Flights
This is the easy part. Start your flight search by visiting Google Flights at https://www.google.com/flights.

While there's no shortage of other Google apps, there's no such thing as the Google Flights app. You can use it on a smartphone web browser, but we think using the desktop version is better.

The home page is easy to use and provides immediate updates based on the selections you can make regarding your departure location, travel destination, dates and more.

The menu in the top left corner (three dashes) gives you shortcuts to Search Flights, Explore Google Flights, and Tracked Prices (where you can track price changes for a flight - more on that later). You can also access your trip information for upcoming trips with Google Trips and even search for hotels. Finally, this is also where you can change your country, language, and currency, a valuable feature depending on where you're looking.

Flight Search is where you can enter information to start your flight search in the middle of the home page. You can provide any of the following:

**Departure airport:** you can choose up to seven departure places to find cheap flights
Destination: You can also enter up to seven locations to fly to Travel dates

**Type of trip:** roundtrip, one-way or multi-city
Number of Passengers: Adults, children, infants in seats and infants on laps

**Airline class:** Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class and First Class. Note that there is no "Basic Economy" filter to remove those pesky fees from your results. But you can use this trick to remove most Basic Economy fares from your search.

**Filter Google flight results to suit your travel needs**
Sometimes, not just any flight is worth it. We all have wants and needs.

Do you want to fly first class for your honeymoon? Do you need to leave after a certain time? Do you only want to fly a specific airline? Don't worry, Google Flights has taken these things into account.

### Google flight filters

**Understanding filters in Google Flights**
Here are all the things you can filter when searching to find a specific flight:

**Stops:** You can select how many stops you're willing to make during your trip, or just make sure your results are non-stop flights only.

**Airlines:** Whether you have airline loyalty or are looking to finally fly on a five-star airline, you can use the airline filter to see only flights from specific airlines or airline alliances like SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and Oneworld.

**Bags:** This feature is a way to filter many budget airlines and other basic budget fares. Add a carry-on to ensure your Basic Economy fares that allow free carry-ons (like Delta or American Airlines) will still be included, while other airlines that don't include free carry-ons in Basic Economy like United or JetBlue won't. will appear. This will also remove most budget airlines like Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant and Sun Country from your results.

**Price:** On a budget? You can easily set the maximum price you are willing to pay for a flight

**Hours:** Do you need to leave in the morning? Or do you know you have to arrive at a certain time? Use this filter to identify flights that fit the departure and arrival times that suit you
Emissions: As Google rolls out new features to guide travelers toward greener flights, you can choose to only show lower carbon emissions results.

**Connecting airports:** Force Google to show only certain results based on the airports through which you connect. You can also filter flights with extra long layovers.

**Duration –** Here you can set the maximum duration you are willing to spend on a plane
Remove flights on separate tickets (for example, fly with one airline and return with another) by clicking "All Filters" and scrolling to the bottom
Google Flights even shows the price differences between basic economy fares (which often come without free seat assignment and, in the case of United basic economy fares and JetBlue basic economy fares, without carry-ons), economy fares, economy seats with extra legroom like Delta Comfort Plus and sometimes even first-class fares.

## Book flights directly with airlines using Google Flights
This is one of the main reasons we love Google's flight search capabilities: Instead of booking through another site that will handle your booking, you can skip the middleman and book your plane ticket directly with The airline.

Unlike an online travel agency or a third-party search engine like Kayak, Expedia, or Priceline, you can book directly with the airline through Google Flights. On the final page, you will be directed to book on the airline's website, along with other sites that may have fares available.

Just click "Select" and Google will take you directly to the offer you just found through Google Flights to book directly with your airline. It's that easy.

## How to find the cheapest days to travel with Google Flights
Finding the cheapest flights is all about flexibility. And part of the power of Google Flights is how easy it is to find the cheapest days to travel.

Start with the Google Flights calendar view, which breaks down the cost of the flights you're viewing over a two-month period. The dates in green tell you right away that they are your best option for cheap flights.

But Google has upped its game even more to help you find the cheapest dates to fly. If changing your travel dates by just one or two dates would save you a lot of money, Google Flights will give you a quick pop-up alert to let you know.

Click on the date grid and Google will bring up a handy color-coded chart showing you the cheapest dates to fly based on departure and return dates. Sometimes changing your dates slightly can save you $20 or more. Other times, those savings can be hundreds of dollars.

You can also display this on a price chart, allowing you to customize your search based on the number of days you want your stay to last.

No other flight search engine gives you more information to save on airfare than Google Flights.

## What is a good flight offer? Google flights will tell you

That is the constant question of almost all travelers looking for a cheap flight. Unless you spend all day, every day looking for an airfare, it's hard to know if the flight you've found is actually saving you money. Google Flights has the answer.

One of our absolute favorite features of this search engine is that Google crunches the numbers so you know how the price of the flight you've found compares to the average. Think about it: Google has millions and millions of individual rates in its database.

Just scroll down after selecting a flight and you'll see a helpful graph showing how its price stacks up to the norm. In this case, this flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) is substantially cheaper than average.

Of course, that is not always the case. In addition to letting you know when changing your dates can save you a small (or large) fortune, Google Flights will also show you when flights are abnormally expensive. It's clear that you should never pay that much for a flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Hong Kong (HKG).

## How to find the cheapest getaway with Google Flights Explore
Not sure where you want to go? Do you know that you want to travel somewhere in June but need ideas? Google Flights Explore is a great way to find the cheapest options when you don't care where you're going.

**Here are some tips on how to use Google Flights Explore:**

* Enter your departure city and a destination as specific (or as broad) as you want to query. California, United States, Europe, South America - they will all work.
* Please select the dates you would like to travel or select flexible date guidelines. Play around with your travel dates, as prices can fluctuate wildly, and keep it roomy if you can. If you have specific dates, you can search as far as you want. If your travel schedule is larger, you can only search for flights in the next six months.
* Move the map to see new destinations and prices.
* Once you find a destination you'd like to explore further, click on the city name, then "View Flights" and the search information will populate with flight options and additional details.
* If you see a green fare on Google Flights, know that this shows you the lowest airfare for the dates or duration you're looking for.

## How to set up alerts to track price changes on Google flights
If you've ever worried about the price of your flight going up (or down), Google Flights has you covered.

You can monitor airfare changes with Google Flight Price Alerts. This is the perfect tool if you have to fly on specific dates, but want to make sure you get the best possible deal.

Start by searching for the flights you want. You can narrow it down as much as you want, breaking down just one preferred airline. Or leave it wide open and go for the cheapest rate possible. You can receive alerts only for fares that include a checked bag, if desired, or only for non-stop flight results.

Once you've filtered your preferences, simply turn on price tracking with the toggle button below the search bar.
* The only requirement to receive these alerts is that you need a Gmail account. Once price tracking is turned on, you'll receive emails from Google Flights every time the price goes up or down significantly directly to your Gmail inbox. You can also see all your tracked flights from the Google Flights menu bar. Just click on "Tracked Flight Prices" and you will be able to access the history of all the flights you are currently tracking within your account.
* Initially, this feature was only available for specific dates. If you want to book a one-way flight on September 12, but prices decreased on the same route for September 13, that change wouldn't trigger Google airfare alerts. But now, Google's flight price alerts are even more powerful.
* A few years ago, Google added the ability to track flight price changes for any date. Just flip that switch and you'll be notified by email whenever there are lower-than-normal airfare prices available on your route within the next three to six months.
* This could be useful if you feel like going somewhere in particular, but you'll go as long as you find a good price. Of course, if you're looking for a specific flight only on a certain day, you'd better skip this new option.

Read the complete guide to tracking flight prices with Google Flights.

## What airlines are not on Google flights?
The power of Google Flights is that almost all airlines are at your fingertips while you search for cheap flights.

But not all airlines are on Google Flights. A handful of airlines choose not to list their flights on Google, or other search engines, for that matter.

## airlines not on google flights
* Southwest doesn't list fares on Google Flights, so you'll need to search directly through their website
* Notably, Southwest Airlines isn't available through Google Flights... at least not directly. So if you're looking for a cheap flight within the US, you'll want to search Southwest's site individually to see what their fares look like. The same is true if you're looking for flights to Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean with Southwest. The airline promptly shut down a nifty Google Chrome browser extension that displayed Southwest fares.

Southwest is not alone. Some other popular Asian airlines, like Air China, China Eastern, and Thai Airways, aren't always available through Google Flights, either.

**You also won't find many fares on Air China, if any, via Google Flights**

There's a lot of ground to cover when it comes to using Google Flights. Fortunately, Google Flights is quite intuitive: use it a few times to find a cheap deal and you'll quickly realize how it works.

But some features stand out more than others. Here are some of our top tips for getting the most out of Google Flights.

**Filter by stopovers to get the flights you want –** We all prefer to fly non-stop, right? Google Flights makes it easy to find only nonstop flights. Just keep in mind that you can often save some money on one-stop flights on other airlines, especially if you're traveling internationally.

**Search the airlines you want:** Are you a die-hard Delta fan? Do you only want to fly United or other Star Alliance airlines? Google Flights has an easy-to-use way to limit your results to certain airlines: airline alliances.
Search multiple cities to find better deals: Google city search and the ability to search multiple departure and destination cities at once (seven of each!) is unmatched. It's especially useful if you're looking at international flights and aren't sure if it'll be cheaper to fly into Rome (FCO) or perhaps head straight to Venice (VCE) or Milan (MXP). Or maybe you're heading to Asia from the West Coast and want the best deal, whether it's from San Francisco (SFO), San Diego (SAN), Los Angeles (LAX) or Seattle (SEA).

**Use Google Flights Explore –** This is perfect for those times when you just need a cheap getaway to anywhere. Some other flight search engines have similar features, but none are quite as powerful. Simply start with your departure airport and type in a country, region or just scroll the map to start looking for deals. Read more on Google Flights Explore!

**Use Price Alerts:** The flexibility to take advantage of a great deal to fly anywhere at any time for a bargain is great, and Google Flights will help you find those flights. But the ability to track prices and get price alerts when the price changes on the specific dates you need to fly is another reason we love this search platform. No other flight search engine does it better. Learn more about setting up and using Google Flights price alerts.

**Keep an eye on your carbon footprint:** It may not save you money, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. Google Flights started going green in 2021 by allowing travelers to compare carbon emissions between each and every flight, which varies by aircraft type and route. You're already saving money by using Google Flights to find the cheapest airfare, so why not choose the flight that's also greener?

**Google Flights + Thrifty Traveler Premium = <3**
You can find the cheapest flights on your own. But it's also the best way to book the absolute best deal on a cheap flight alert we send you through Thrifty Traveler Premium.

We'll send you a Premium Alert when there's a cheap flight offer (at least $250+ off) from your hometown. This email alert will include information on airlines, months available, tips for exploring the destination, and more.

### How do I cancel a ticket booked through Google Flights?
Because you're not actually booking through Google Flights, there's no need to use Google if you need to change or cancel your tickets.

Instead, you'll have to go through the way you booked: your airline or the online travel agency you used. Google Flights can't help you.

Please note that the US Department of Transportation has a "24 hour rule" that requires airlines to give you a full refund if you cancel your flight within 24 hours of booking. This rule applies to all flights that touch US soil on any airline (domestic or foreign). And while the rule only requires full refunds for flights booked directly with the airline, some of the largest online travel agencies have the same policy.

# Are all airlines available on Google Flights?
Almost all major airlines (and many minor ones) are available through Google Flights, but there are some notable exceptions.

Southwest Airlines is the biggest airline missing from Google Flights, as the beloved budget carrier doesn't list its flights here, though you can view Southwest fares by installing the Wanderlog Chrome Browser extension. Allegiant Air was also missing for years, but that has recently changed.

Several larger Asian airlines are also missing from Google flights, including China Eastern, Air China, and many Thai Airways flights.

## Why isn't Southwest on Google Flights?
**Because you typically won't find Southwest flights anywhere else except on Southwest.com!**

It costs airlines money to get their fares into the global distribution systems used by Google Flights, so they save some costs. Additionally, Southwest may simply not want to allow travelers to easily compare prices between their own flights and those of other airlines, in the hope that they will search and fly only Southwest.

## How do you search for flexible dates on Google Flights?
**Easy. Google Flights pretty much does it for you.**

Just enter your flight and dates and then click on the dates in your search, and Google will bring up a helpful two-month calendar. Scroll and you will see the lowest prices available in green. The search tool can also show you a pop-up notification when changing your travel dates by a day or two could result in significant savings.

## How do you change the currency of Google Flights?
Just scroll down to the bottom of any Google Flights page and you'll see the currency option. Click on it and set the currency in which you want your flight results to be displayed.

**Bottom line**
Google Flights should be your go-to tool for booking your next trip. We analyze thousands of flights every day and it's hands down the most robust tool for finding amazingly cheap fares.

It's much better than any other flight search tool, with more features to help you find the best deal every time.