Google to Disable Booking Feature for Flights — Here’s Why (2024)

FAQs

Why is Google Flights not letting me book? ›

Google will stop offering the option to book a flight directly through the site after Sept. 30 for most of the world. The search engine will then similarly end the option in the United States after March 31, 2023, the company confirmed to Travel + Leisure.

Southwest stands out among domestic carriers for not sharing its fare prices with sites like Expedia and Google. Sally French is a travel rewards expert who joined NerdWallet in 2020.

The internet is full of tips and tricks on how to make it cheaper. One of the most pervasive “tricks” is to use incognito mode when searching for your flights to get a cheaper ticket. You wouldn't be crazy for believing it, but this is a giant myth.

Google Will No Longer Be a Place to Book Travel as Fewer Travelers Were Using It. Google announced it will shut Book on Google for flights for users outside the U.S. at the end of September, and told Skift it will likewise end the feature in the U.S. sometime after March 31.

Not all airlines are on Google Flights. One major exception in the US is Southwest Airlines, which does not list its fares on Google Flights. Several large Asian carriers are also absent from the results, including Air China, China Eastern, Thai Airways, and Philippine Airlines.

Some flights might not show up when: The flights are sold out or unavailable. The carrier hasn't yet been added to Google Flights.

The theory behind it that airlines use cookies on websites to track your search history and then raise the price on the ticket you want. While we may be distrustful of airlines thanks to all those fees, the experts say they don't raise prices based on your search behavior.

Southwest didn't list its fares for sale through Google or almost any other site by design: It didn't want to put loyalty in the hands of an intermediary. Previously, the only option to book Southwest flights was directly on the airline's website or app.

If you wait, it may cost you more money in the end. Generally speaking, the longer you wait, the more you'll end up paying. Even if you can find a reasonable base fare, booking close to your departure date could mean you end up paying extra for things like seat selection or luggage.

Can hackers see my incognito searches? ›

Incognito mode does not mean you're browsing anonymously. Personal information like your device's IP address and what you're doing on a website (especially while logged in) is visible to others around the web who might be tracking you online.

The price of airline tickets can change frequently based on various factors like demand, the time of year, and how close the travel date is. While some people believe that buying tickets at night can lead to better deals, there's no strong evidence to support this consistently.

Click on "Get More Bookings" and then select "Get bookings from Google.". Next, switch off the "Active" option on the screen.

𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 Á𝐢𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐬.𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 +𝟭-𝟖𝟕𝟕-𝟕𝟕𝟕-𝟓𝟐.𝟒𝟎 . 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝.

As previously mentioned, booking airfare on Sunday is cheaper than other days of the week, especially Fridays. Be willing to fly mid-week. Since Thursdays tend to be the cheapest day to fly, see if you can tweak your travel plans so you depart and fly home during the week instead of on weekends. Set price alerts.

In some cases, the booking failure would be because certain berth preferences chosen by you at the time of booking such as “Book only if at least 1 lower berth is provided” etc. which are not met. In such cases, you can retry and make a successful booking by removing the berth preference.

Google Flights partners with over 300 airlines, online travel agencies and aggregators to help you decide how to get to your destination and how to buy your ticket. We want you to have what you need to make that decision, and to do that we share a lot of information from our partners.