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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Will Starmer's Brexit reset work?Today's Big Question PM will have to tread a fine line to keep Leavers on side as leaks suggest EU's 'tough red lines' in trade talks next year
-
How domestic abusers are exploiting technologyThe Explainer Apps intended for child safety are being used to secretly spy on partners
-
Scientists finally know when humans and Neanderthals mixed DNAUnder the radar The two began interbreeding about 47,000 years ago, according to researchers
