The 6 Most Innovative Flight-Booking Apps
Travel tech is moving forward at an unbelievably fast pace. Back when I went on my first multi-flight trip, the easiest way to find cheap flights was to go to my local STA Travel and have them search their vast database of cheap airfares. Whatever they came up with was the price I had to pay (or sulk at home).
This experience lived long in my memory and I now have huge appreciation for companies that try to do things a little differently. For this reason I’ve been scouring Product Hunt over the last couple of years to bring together a shortlist of our favorite flight-booking apps and platforms.
The beautiful thing about these products is that they’re built to solve a problem faced by travelers all over the globe. Whether it’s over priced flights, delayed or cancelled trips, or tediously long layovers, these web and mobile apps will add something a little different to your flight-booking experience.
Flightfox is a community of travel agents and ‘flight hackers’ who are experts at finding incredibly cheap flights. You spend less money and time on booking flights and more time daydreaming about your vacation.
So, how does it work? You pay a $49 fee per journey (refundable it you’re not found a discount) and work with your designated travel adviser (or professional travel hacker) to find that golden flight ticket. These guys and girls scour the internet looking for the cheapest possible options; whether it’s piecing together single flights, ‘fuel dumping‘, or using their contacts in the industry.
Does this actually work?! Well in our experience, if you’re looking for a non-stop flight from London to New York, it probably won’t make too much of a difference. However, for those slightly more convoluted trips, FlightFox is a godsend. We traveled back to the East Coast, from India, in October last year and were found a flight for $600. That’s a saving of almost $300. Not bad for $50 and having a brief email exchange with an advisor.
It’s also great if you’re incredibly flexible with your travel. Willing to take 3 layovers in exchange for a first class flight on each one? This is where they come in handy. If you’re not picky on how long it will take you to get to your destination, and you want to simply get the most out of each leg of the trip, this is where I truly believe they are unrivaled. They’re fantastic at finding ways to get you into first class for the same price as coach as long as you’re willing to sit in an airport for an extra 12 hours during your layover. Personally not my style, but props to those who can.
Not only one of the greatest rock songs of all time, Freebird is also an incredibly useful service for those of you who MUST arrive at your destination on time; whether it’s for a business meeting, a wedding, or you just hate being stuck
at the airport when your flight is delayed,
How does it work? Purchase Freebird once you buy your ticket and and if your flight is delayed or canceled, you’re notified of available on-time flights to your destination, on any airline, and you can book your ticket for FREE. If you know canceled flights and airports, you’ll understand how a pack of travelers moves towards the customer service desk at the first sign of trouble, making Freebird a go-to app for frequent travelers.
This app is the thought child of a group of digital nomads who not only wanted to find cheap flights, but also enjoy the journey getting to their destination. If you’re going to have a layover, you may as well have time to get out of the
airport and explore the surrounding area before carrying on to your destination (to your next layover :-)).
Using machine-learning, QuestOrganizer compares hundreds of possibilities for every connection and learns from each search you make. This gives you the ability to find savings by arranging the perfect combination of flights and multiple-book airfares. Flying is no longer only about getting directly to your destination, you can now enjoy the journey as well.
After binge-watching Better Call Saul, I initially thought this app allowed you to curate a list of people you’d like struck off the face of the Earth…. fortunately, it’s one of the best travel and flight apps that I’ve used. Not only does Hitlist give you incredible access to fare drops from your chosen airport, it also incorporates the social aspect of travel.
To get started, you can create your list of dream destinations (or choose from recommendations) as well as view your friend’s tips, lists, and current location. Hitlist then scans the the millions of constantly fluctuating deals across the Internet and delivers you the cheapest itineraries. Hitlists’ social aspect allows you to share your trip and peer pressure your social circle to come along for the fun.
The only downside is that it’s currently only available on the iPhone :-(.
Don’t hate me for including Google in this list. Yes they are a huge company, but damn do they release some useful products. Google has got its flight game together in recent years. Rather than simply compiling results like it does with most other searches, Google provides times, dates, and prices of the route you’re interested in. How did it make such a considerable jump in the last couple of years?
Firstly, Google (being Google) purchased travel comparison site ITA, a company that powers the searches of well known flight aggregators such as Travelocity and Expedia. After tweaking the comparison engine slightly, you can now find flights directly from your search bar.
Though the fares were pretty similar to websites search as Skyscanner and Kayak, the search was incredibly quick and most of the cheapest results that I found were directly through the airline, rather than booking agents that gradually suck your soul if you try reschedule.
Know what dates you want to travel but don’t have a specific destination in mind? Corner’s aim is to recreate the
travel booking experience by allowing you to search by date rather than location … plus they’ve made it look beautiful and a great experience to boot.
Select the dates you want to travel and see the prices of flights to destinations all over the world. You also have a variety of different filters to choose your destination by, such as weather, so that you can choose the best destination for the type of vacation that you’re looking for. The prices it offers are also very competitive making this one of my go-to app recommendations when friends are looking for a spontaneous trip away.
Do you have any other flight apps that you wouldn’t be able to function without?! Let us know, we’re always eager to try new tech!
Originally published at www.braingain.co.
