Ahead of the busy holiday travel season, Google Flights is rolling out a new “Cheapest” search filter.
After entering where and when you’re traveling, you’ll soon see tabs for “Best” and “Cheapest” in Google Flights, with the former “based on a mix of price and convenience.”
This new “Cheapest” tab will show “more options with even lower prices” by taking into account what Google calls “creative itineraries.” With the price highlighted in green, this might involve:
- Longer layovers: already noted by Google Flights
- Self-transfers: “generally require travelers to collect and recheck baggage during layovers, check into each flight separately, and forego the benefits of communication between airlines.” Also known as virtual interline.
- Purchasing/separating different legs of the trip through multiple airlines or third-party booking sites, which might also offer cheaper rates
At the bottom of each card, Google Flights will continue to note advisories like “Separate tickets booked together.” When it’s “Separate tickets” or the new “Self transfer, ” you’ll see a more prominent red warning message.
Cheapest is rolling out starting this week and will be available “globally over the next two weeks.” It’s intended for “those times when cost matters more than convenience.”
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