This new tool tells you the right time to book to get the lowest airfares online

Travellers looking to book their next flights on the Internet will soon be able to get a little extra help. This will take the form of a small warning indicating whether they should book now, or whether they’re better off waiting a little longer to get lower fares.

The online flight comparison service Google Flights is rolling out a new feature that lets you determine the best time to book. The idea is to wait for the right moment to book in order to get the lowest fares. Thanks to all the data it has collected over the years, Google Flights can now offer precise information on the times when fares are usually lowest for a given destination.

This is used to give users an on-screen message like, for example, “the cheapest time to book is usually later, from September 13 to December 7” in their search results. This will work for searches for which sufficiently extensive and reliable data is available.

The new feature joins those already available from the service, such as the ability to see whether the current prices for a flight search are low, typical or high relative to the average. Google Flights also offers price tracking, which sends notifications to users when flight fares drop significantly for selected dates or flexible dates, depending on their preferences.

For some flight results, you’ll now also see a colored “price guarantee” badge, which means that the fare displayed won’t drop any further between now and the day of departure. Note that if you book a flight with this badge, Google will refund the difference (via Google Pay) if the price then drops. For the moment, this is only available for flights departing from the United States.

Generally speaking, choosing routes with stopovers and avoiding weekend departures are the best ways to save on long-haul flights. – AFP Relaxnews