Will Google Travel topple Kayak.com?

As the search giant enters the travel-planning biz, a no-frills takeoff may belie its plans to dominate the niche

Google Travel
(Image credit: Google, Kayak)

In April, Google paid $700 million to buy the airfare software company ITA. On Tuesday, the tech giant put that acquisition to work, launching a flight search portal of its own called Google Travel. Google boasts that its new tool will offer "super-fast results," "a simple list of the most relevant flights," and a no-brainer way to discern which dates are the cheapest to fly. The new service is still fairly limited, but wary observers are asking what Google's foray into the travel business will mean for established sites like Kayak and Expedia: Is Google a threat?

Not yet: Using Kayak is simple, and all flight options are clearly presented, says Mark Hachman at PC Mag. Google's service, "by contrast, seems somewhat arbitrary," and, at times, confusing. To book a trip, you first select an outbound flight through Google. Then, return options appear in a "rather subtle dropdown window." After you select your flights, yet another dropdown window appears with a link to the airline website to purchase the flights. Not exactly seamless.

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