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Has anyone ever booked a flight with Google Flights? I am just wondering where they get their prices and data from, and if I might find a cheaper flight by using something like Expedia or Travelocity.

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    So what exactly is your question? Whether or not you will be able to book a cheaper ticket would be a simple matter looking at another aggregator like: skyscanner.com or kayak.com
    – Karlson
    Apr 18, 2013 at 19:56

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Google uses ITA Software's QPX software, which uses algorithms to combine and parse multiple sets of flight information from airlines. This includes any pricing and any other available data, which allows them to keep an up-to-date database that can be searched just like their search engine. This allows them to check against multiple different airlines for the various data that all of those programs like expedia and travelocity have access to. Refer to the information provided in the links to prevent for a lengthy post that is just quoted from the website. It is a quite complex and very effective software. You can read more on this topic on Google's website.

EDIT: If you're looking to find really good flights at a cheaper rate, Google has a good starting point for sure. I would potentially refer to websites like Kayak or CheapoAir as well however and then compare the prices. I always like to refer to multiple sources and see who offers the best rate. I usually always start with a Google search, this allows you to see what airlines might be the right one to go with in the long run.

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    I think this answer is not complete. At first I also thought that QPX and google.com/flights were linked, but seems like they are different engines (or /flights is built on top of QPX). Seems like QPX/ITA matrix don't include results from some relevant companies. In my case, I was checking from Barcelona to London and QPX/ITA matrix doesn't include flights from Ryanair. The difference is of 80€ vs 399€, so it's quite relevant.
    – Noel De Martin
    Oct 10, 2014 at 11:06
  • Google bought ITA Software and has built upon their product. So they initially used it as a base. If you read the article than you can see more about the acquisition and the nature of the product. google.com/press/ita/faq.html
    – Elias
    Oct 14, 2014 at 1:13
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    This doesn't answer the question asked. The question is where do they get the data, not what software or company they use. You say they get them "from airlines", but where/what/how? From e.g. the United website? for free? or do you have to pay the airlines? or is there an API? etc.
    – user541686
    Feb 18, 2015 at 6:58

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