Topic: Google Flights

SearchCap: Yahoo Search Share, Google Red Slow Icons & Green Stars

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Study: Google Now Displays Rich Answers For 19.45% Of Queries Rich answers are now displaying for targeted queries at a rate of 19.45% for targeted queries, according to a new study […]

Google Now Lets Travelers Know When Flight Prices Drop

Google is helping travelers save money with a new Now card that tells users when a price has dropped on a flight. According to this Google+ post, you can tap the card to display the Flight Search info and book your trip from there. It only works if you’ve searched Google Flights on the most […]

Google Introduces Richer Flight Search Experience

Google is introducing a revamped flight and hotel travel search experience. To date both products have been mostly underwhelming. The big promises of Google’s ITA acquisition have yet to bear fruit but that may change with the new Google Flight and travel search experience. Previously the best feature of Google Travel was Flight Explorer (immediately […]

Google Flight Search Takes Off Around The Globe

Google’s flight search tool had been limited to a few markets in the US. As such, it was of limited value. But last week, the company expanded flight search internationally to include 500 airports outside the US. (See postscript below below for correction.) Flight search can also be used by people in other countries — […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 28, 2013

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: With $14 Million More Q&A Site ChaCha Soldiers On Q&A is a great idea that really hasn’t worked. Although Yahoo Answers and a few others are still around — and Ask […]

Flights, Hotels: Google Is Improving Its Travel Search Tools

Following its acquisition of travel software provider ITA, Google’s flight and hotel search products have offered isolated useful features but have largely failed to live up to Google’s promise of “innovation.” Consumers have mostly failed to notice Google’s travel innovations so far as well. There are now indications that Google’s travel sites and content are becoming more […]

Google Experiments With New Flight Explorer Feature

Google is trying out a new travel search tool that seems to be aimed primarily at casual travelers that are as concerned about price as they are about a destination. It’s called Flight Explorer and it doesn’t appear to be reachable yet via Google’s regular flight search tool at google.com/flights. As best I can tell, […]

Google “Comparison” Units Get New Look; Change Highlights Paid Inclusion In Some Vertical Search Areas

Google has had what it has called “comparison ads” for some time, but these comparison units are getting a new look in Google’s search results beginning today. Google hopes the change will better explain to searchers that comparison listings come from companies it has a commercial relationship with. It also highlights how three Google search […]

Google Expands Flight Search Outside US To 500 Cities

Google Flight Search is taking off to international destinations. Starting today users can search for flights to 500 airports outside the US. Google hasn’t provided a comprehensive list of destinations, but most European and Asian cities I searched for were available. It’s not clear how well flight search is doing or whether people are using […]

Google Offers Flight Search To Go

Google has been improving its flight and hotel search results over the past few months, adding capabilities and polishing the overall experience. In accordance with that “iterative” approach Google announced today that flight search will now be available on mobile devices (browser only). To trigger the verticalized results, you need to specify that you want […]

Google Flight Search Expands, Now Showing More Routes

You can imagine my surprise when I saw my local airport — Pasco (PSC) — showing up in Google’s flight search feature. Don’t get me wrong; I love this airport … from car to gate in less than 10 minutes just can’t be beat. But that’s the point: It’s a pretty small airport and Google’s […]

Google Makes Flight Search Results Better Looking, More Useful

In September Google did the first part of its integration with ITA, showing flight schedule information in search results and launching a separate flight search “portal” of sorts (Google.com/flights). Here’s what it looked like in Google.com results: The display could be expanded to reveal flight schedule information. However that wasn’t very pretty or useful, especially […]

Bing “Action Buttons” Lets You Book Flights, Rent Cars & More

Bing announced a new feature in the search results named “Action Buttons.” Action buttons give you quick links to perform specific actions on specific web sites. IF you are searching for an airline, the Bing action buttons may include items like check flight status, book a flight or check in to a flight. If you […]

Google Travel Search Takes Flight With First ITA Travel Product

Google has made what amounts to a promising downpayment on more ambitious travel search tools with its new Flight Search, debuting today. Launching initially for a select group of US cities Google users will have access to an expanded range of airline search options and a much more verticalized experience than has been available in […]

Official: Google’s New Travel Search OneBox

As we expected, Google officially announced the launch of their new flight onebox. The new travel onebox will show up when you search for flight related keywords with destinations. For example, [flights from new york to san francisco] or [flights from new york or [flights to new york]. They all work to five you an […]

Google Tests New Travel Search OneBox

SEOGadget noticed Google testing a new travel search OneBox interface. I suspect this is an early sign of the Google ITA integration, where Google purchased ITA, a travel software company. A typical Google travel search OneBox looks like this: The new travel OneBox offers a more detailed box of information with departing cities, airlines and […]

Microsoft Joins FairSearch Group Opposing Google-ITA Acquisition

Microsoft has long and openly been involved in opposing some of Google’s high-profile deals and acquisitions. It helped scuttle the proposed Google-Yahoo search deal that paved the way for its own deal with Yahoo. It unsuccessfully opposed the DoubleClick and AdMob acquisitions. It also owns Ciao, one of the complainants that helped launch the recent […]

Feds Consider Google-ITA Deal: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

In what is becoming an annual ritual Google announces a dramatic acquisition, pundits speculate about the potentially market-changing impact and anti-trust investigators give it a long, hard look — only to allow it in the end. Last year the transaction in question was AdMob; this year it’s ITA software. Since the roughly $700 million deal […]