Cheap Ticket Links

Which flight search site should you use?

Start with a metasearch site that searches everyone and sells you nothing, then buy from the airline. Google Flights and Kayak are the two worth having open. Everything else is a variation.

There are two kinds of site, and it matters which you are on

A metasearch site does not sell you a ticket. It searches airlines and agencies, shows you the results, and hands you off. Google Flights, Kayak, Skyscanner, Momondo and Cheapflights work this way.

An online travel agency sells you the ticket itself. Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, Travelocity, CheapTickets and Hotwire are agencies. When something goes wrong with a flight you bought from an agency, you have two companies to deal with instead of one, and they will point at each other.

Search on metasearch. Buy from the airline where you can. The saving from an agency is usually small and the cost of a cancellation handled by a third party is not.

The ownership map

Most of these brands are two companies wearing different logos.

This is why checking Expedia, then Orbitz, then Travelocity feels thorough and is not. You are looking at one inventory three times. Pick one from each group instead.

Use two sites, not six

Open Google Flights for the shape of the trip: the calendar view, the map, the nearby airports, which days are cheap. It is faster than everything else and it does not chase you with urgency banners.

Then open one of Kayak, Skyscanner or Momondo, because they include agencies and small carriers that Google does not always show. If the two agree, you have found the price. If one is much cheaper, look at who is selling it before you believe it.

The exception worth remembering: a few airlines sell only on their own site, and low-cost carriers often price lower direct than anywhere they distribute. If a route has an obvious budget airline, check it directly.

Read the price twice

The headline number is rarely the number you pay. Before you compare two fares, make sure both include the same things: a carry-on bag, a checked bag, a seat assignment, and the ability to change the ticket.

Basic economy exists to win the sort by price. On most carriers it means no seat selection, last boarding group, no changes, and on some, no full-size carry-on. It can still be the right ticket. It is just not the same ticket as the one above it, and the search results will not tell you that until you click.

Common questions

What is the cheapest flight search site?

None of them consistently. The cheapest fare moves between them by route and by day, which is why two sites beat one and six sites beat nothing.

Is it cheaper to book directly with the airline?

Usually the same price and occasionally cheaper, and always easier when something goes wrong. Book direct unless an agency is meaningfully cheaper.

Does Google Flights sell tickets?

No. It searches and then sends you to the airline or an agency to buy. That is why it has no reason to push one result over another.

Why do Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity show the same prices?

Because they are the same company. All three are Expedia Group brands running on shared inventory.