Travelling? These are the best flight booking sites
The internet has revolutionized how we research, plan, and book travel. One of the biggest innovations has been the rise of online flight booking sites and apps. These sites have made it easier than ever for travelers to compare flight options and prices across airlines and routes.
In this article, we’ll explore the evolution of flight booking technology and some of the leading sites shaping the future of flight bookings.
The Early Days of Online Flight Bookings Flight booking sites
In the early days of the Internet, flight shopping was limited. Airlines only listed schedules and fares on their own websites, making it tedious for travelers to compare options. The first online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity, founded in 1996 and 1996 respectively, aggregated flight data in one place but focused more on packaging flights with hotels and rental cars. The first true flight search engines emerged around the early 2000s with sites like Kayak, Skyscanner and Google Flights allowing travelers to easily search flight options across different airlines and routes.
The Rise of Meta Search Sites
A new generation of meta-search sites like Skyscanner and Trip.com emerged in the 2010s and disrupted online flight bookings. Unlike earlier OTAs, these sites don’t sell travel themselves. Instead, they search and aggregate flight data from hundreds of sources including airlines, online travel agencies, and consolidators. The advantage for travelers is the ability to compare a much wider array of flight options in one place. Metasearch brought unprecedented transparency to flight shopping.
Key Benefits of Flight Metasearch Sites Flight booking sites
- Price comparison across airlines and online sellers
- Ability to easily search multiple dates and destinations
- Tools to track price changes over time
- Traveler reviews and ratings
- Flexible search filters and options
The Platforms Leading Flight Search Innovation
Today, a few key players are leading innovation in flight metasearch and booking technology.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner, founded in 2003, is one of the most popular flight metasearch engines globally with over 100 million monthly users. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, Skyscanner’s flight search algorithm combs through vast databases to find the best deals. Unique features include price graphs showing historical fare trends, flexible search filters, and email price alerts. Skyscanner also has an excellent mobile app making flight search on the go easy.
Trip.com
Formerly known as Ctrip, Trip.com is China’s largest online travel platform and a major global player after acquiring Skyscanner in 2016. Trip.com provides a meta-search engine similar to Skyscanner as well as a travel booking site with competitive rates once you’re ready to book. The website and app are available in over 20 languages making Trip.com popular with travelers worldwide.
Booking.com
Booking.com, founded in 1996, started as an accommodation booking site but now also offers a robust flight booking option. Owned by Booking Holdings which also operates Kayak, Booking.com leverages the company’s vast travel data and technology capabilities for its flight metasearch. Useful features include an interactive map to visually search destinations, flexible filters, and free cancellation on select flights. Booking.com has also integrated flight and hotel bookings allowing travelers to easily bundle both together. With offices around the globe, Booking.com is available in over 40 languages making it popular, especially with international travelers.
The Future of Flight Booking Technology
Looking ahead, flight booking technology will continue to evolve to further simplify and customize the travel planning process. Key trends will include:
- More predictive analytics and AI to forecast prices and recommend ideal booking times.
- Personalization of search results and travel recommendations based on individual traveler preferences.
- Virtual and augmented reality to enhance trip planning and simulations.
- Expanded adoption of chatbots, messaging, and voice technology for flight bookings.
As flight booking technology continues advancing, travelers worldwide can look forward to more intuitive, streamlined experiences. Online flight metasearch and booking will only get smarter, faster, and more customized to each traveler’s unique needs and preferences.
