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Meet julie jones.

I have had amazing adventures in many destinations, but my biggest adventure began in 2013: starting TopFlight Travels.

I have always loved traveling. Whether that means exploring the hiking trails at Innsbrook, Missouri; glamping on Vancouver Island, British Columbia; enjoying brunch in Puglia, Italy; or having drinks by the sea in Mykonos, Greece — you name the place, I will be there in a heartbeat. So, I suppose it's not surprising I opened my own luxury travel agency after working as a commercial finance attorney for over a decade. At the time, though, I had no idea what a wild adventure on which I was about to embark.

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15 Best Flight Booking Websites for Cheap Flights

If you’re on a budget, or if you’re looking for flight deals on complicated routes, knowing where to begin your search is half the battle.

I don’t know if a week has gone by in my life that I haven’t binge-searched the internet for the cheapest flight to somewhere other than my 500 sq. ft. apartment. And with so many flight comparison websites available these days, It’s so easy to get sucked into a rabbit hole while hunting for the best deals and routes.

Unfortunately for us avid travelers, booking a flight is more than just inputting your travel dates and picking one of the first ones you find. If you really want to get the best flight at the best price, it pays to shop around.

There are so many websites out there for booking cheap flights, it’s hard to know where to begin. So, after many years of late nights scouring the internet for my next adventure, I compiled this list of 15 of the best flight booking sites so you can find the cheapest fares!

Book Direct Through The Airline’s Website

• Best Flight Booking Website Overall: Skyscanner
• Best Website to Find Cheap Flights: Momondo
• Best Website to Find the Cheapest Travel Dates: Google Flights
• Best Website for Flight Deals: Going (Formerly Scotts Cheap Flights)
• Best Website for Last-Minute Flights: Airfare Watchdog
• Best Website to Book Flights and Hotels: Hotwire
• Best Empty Leg Flights Website: Wheels Up
• Best For Price Matching: Travelocity
• Best Flight Website for Predicting Travel Deals: Hopper
• Best Flight Website for Hidden City Ticketing: Skiplagged
• Best Flight Website for Vacation Packages: Expedia
• Best Flight Booking Site for Airline Reviews: TripAdvisor
• Best Flight Booking Site for Collecting Points: Orbitz
• Best Flight Booking Site for Multi-Stop Travels: Kiwi

There are three types of airfare search sites you might use on your flight booking journey:

• Online travel agencies (OTA)
• Flight aggregators
• Airline websites

An online travel agency typically has access to special pricing on certain flights which you can then book directly on the website.

A flight aggregator , on the other hand, rounds up flight pricing from all over the web and sends you either to the airline’s website or the OTA for booking.

The airline website is almost always the best option when it comes to booking flights. And I typically find the flight I want to book using a flight aggregator. I generally recommend that you stay away from OTAs, unless you find a crazy good deal.

That’s because when you book directly through an airline, you have more flexibility to cancel, change, or refund your trip. OTA cancelation policies are typically very, very bad. Airlines are much more likely to work with you when issues arise, whereas OTAs are known for having pretty poor customer service.

You’re saving yourself a potential headache down the line, should anything change.

So, here’s what I recommend: When searching for your next flight, start with your preferred website—like Skyscanner , Momondo , or another—and search for your flights. If you have flexible dates or airports, play around with the filters to compare prices.

Once you’ve found cheap airfare, head to that airline’s site to look up the flight. Sometimes flight aggregators will have the option to automatically take you to the airline website anyway.

If the best price in the flight search result

Skyscanner : Best Flight Booking Website Overall

No matter how many times I’ve searched for flights on other websites, I always come back to Skyscanner. I’ve been using Skyscanner for years now, and it’s simply the best airfare booking site, especially when searching with flexible dates.

Skyscanner searches 1,200 airlines and travel providers and always returns excellent results, even on tricky routes, because they’ll often pull from two separate airlines for your trip if necessary. You may have to switch airlines at the airport, but if you want to save money, it’s worth it. If not, you can filter out the results for the “fastest” route to take.

The search results even show ratings for the online travel agencies or airlines to help make your decision easier (for example, when it comes down to Condor versus Expedia, Condor has the best ratings).

If you don’t know where to go but you do know when you want to go, you can literally search “Everywhere” to find the cheapest destinations within a certain timeframe. You can also set up price change notifications, so you’re alerted when a route you’re eyeing drops in price. I’ve found some excellent deals over the years this way, my favorite being a roundtrip flight to Switzerland for $500!

I will say where Skyscanner falls short is last-minute flights. They tend not to have the cheapest results, but it doesn’t hurt to check here first before moving onto other sites no this list.

Momondo : Best Website to Find Cheap Flights

For me, it’s always a toss up between Momondo and Skyscanner when looking for flight deals. Both frequently return the same cheap flight results, but Momondo is also great for tracking flights. If you’re an airfare nerd like me, you’ll appreciate this feature.

There are lots of great filters to use when you’re searching for a flight on Momondo—you can select your preferred airline or airline alliance, flight duration, and even layover duration. For example, the search results for a route from NYC to Dubai show a wide range of prices depending on the route that suits you best.

I also love the fact that you can filter out red-eyes if necessary, and you can search for hotels, vacation package deals, activities, and car rentals too. It’s like a one-stop shop!

The visual flight tracker at the top of the search results is my favorite Momondo feature. It simply shows you the specific days your route would be cheapest, which could end up saving you hundreds of dollars just by changing your arrival or departure date by a day or two. If you have flexible dates for your trip, this feature can offer massive savings.

Like Skyscanner, Momondo will also mix and match airlines to help you find cheap airfare. You can also set up price alerts, or search “Anywhere” if you have flexible dates and simply want to travel somewhere new!

Google Flights : Best Website to Find the Cheapest Travel Dates

Google Flights is another search aggregator and is one of the best tools for searching for cheap flight prices because it uses the powerful ITA Matrix search engine , which was originally built for travel agents.

There’s are a huge swath of features when searching with Google Flights. For example, when you enter your flight route in the search bar, Google Flights automatically pulls the cheapest airfare into the calendar…before you even hit “Search.”

When you click ahead a few weeks or months, you can see how much the price varies, down to the day. This is an amazing tool if you have flexible dates for your trip.

Plus, when you enter your departure city, Google Flights offers a list of destination airports with incredibly low prices. Just putting “Los Angeles” in the “From” field showed me cheap flights to New York City starting from $208 USD, and Los Angeles to Vegas for less than $50 USD!

You can also set filters to search regions or even continents, like Europe, for a broader range of results.

Be sure to check out the price graph to see how things are trending, or set up easy price alerts with a quick toggle button. Google Flights will even let you know if baggage fees are extra. Transparency! I love it.

The only thing keeping Google Flights from the #1 spot on this list, in my opinion, is the fact that all the filters and options can be quite confusing for the average traveler. It’s easy to get lost in all the details if you’re simply just trying to find cheap flights as quickly as possible.

With that said, learning how to use Google Flights is perhaps one of the best travel hacks out there. It’s so incredibly varied in its features and capabilities, a master of Google Flights is a master of travel.

Going (Formerly Scotts Cheap Flights) : Best Website for Flight Deals

If you’re the kind of person who’s willing to go just about anywhere if the right deal pops up, give Going a shot. (Note: Going currently only offers deals from US airports).

Formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Flights, Going is an email subscription service that rounds up flight deals internationally and domestically within the United States. Most of their deals have between 40-90% off average airfare prices. These aren’t computer-automated results: Going has a full team of people scouring the web for deals everyday.

You have two options when you sign up for the Going service: free, and paid. The “freemium” subscription means you can sign up to receive free emails about flight deals, but you’re limited to international economy deals from five origin airports (of your preference).

But if you sign up for the Premium or Elite membership, you’ll actually receive those same flight deals 30 minutes ahead of the free subscribers. With premium, you’ll also get emails about domestic flight prices, error fares (these happen when an airline or OTA accidentally lists a flight for cheaper than the actual fare), deals on premium and business class seats as well as award flight deals, bookable with points.

And these aren’t crappy routes on budget carriers—real people research the flight deals and they only send you the kind of flight deals they’d also send to their friends.

I highly recommend signing up for the free version and seeing if it’s something you enjoy. From there, try the two-week trial run of the paid subscription and see if anything interesting pops up!

Obviously you’re most likely to find a cheap flight if you live close to a major city hub, but you’ll be surprised by the flight results for less populated airports as well.

Airfare Watchdog : Best Website for Last-Minute Flights

Similar to Scott’s Cheap Flights, Airfare Watchdog has a team of flight hackers that scour the Internet for the best deals on cheap fares. That includes error fares and other last-minute deals that may pop up at any moment.

If you have flexible travel dates and can book a flight at the drop of a hat, this gives you an excellent opportunity to save some money.

The website is wonderfully straightforward. As soon as you log your city, Airfare Watchdog gives you a list of deals available right on the homepage, with airfare deals often under $100 round-trip. These deals are refreshed daily.

At the top of the page, you’ll also find Today’s Top Deals, and you’ll see Weekend Deals under the Flights category. The weekend deals are particularly useful if you want to plan a quick, three to four day getaway. You can select the “Take Me Anywhere” option to see what express deals are available from your departure airport.

The downside: almost all the express deals are for US destinations. If I want an express deal for somewhere south of the border, for example, I may have to dig a little deeper.

Airfare Watchdog is also really good at monitoring price trends over time, so when you sign up for airfare alerts you’ll get updates when airfare prices fluctuate. And, unlike Scott’s Cheap Flights, Airfare Watchdog is also available in Canada.

Hotwire : Best Website to Book Flights and Hotels

I’ve used Hotwire many times to book last-minute hotel stays in various cities, so I was excited to try booking a Hot Rate Flight along with a hotel stay on their website.

“Hot Rate Flights” conceal the airline and exact flight times until after you book—much like their hotel stays. If those detail don’t matter too much to you, this could be a great money-saving option to try out (plus, who doesn’t like living life on the edge a little bit)!

Hotwire really shines when you bundle your deals and book a hotel along with your flight. For example, while searching for a flight and hotel bundle from New York City to London, a message popped up to notify me that I could save nearly $400 USD if I booked the hotel and the Hot Rate Flight together.

So, I searched for a 3-night stay with flights and hotels included and the cost was $1,277 USD total. And the hotel was a boutique hotel, which was a nice perk!

A quick separate search for both the hotel rates and regular airfare shows that, indeed, the Hotwire deal is cheaper. Just the flight alone through American Airlines for the same dates is $1,347 USD…and that’s without the hotel!

I should note that although the Hotwire flights were cheaper than booking directly through the American Airlines site, the Hotwire AA flights used two different New York City airports.

When I tried booking one-way flights for departure and return on the airline’s website to match the exact same Hotwire routing, the price was actually even higher! Truly a great deal from Hotwire.

You also get a 24-hour cancellation policy with Hotwire. There are no hidden fees involved (although there may be a booking fee), because Hotwire is refreshingly upfront about baggage fees, seat selection, etc.

Wheels Up : Best Empty Leg Flights Website

An “empty leg flight” refers to those flights that are scheduled without any passengers; for example, when an aircraft needs to return for a charter. Typically, this most often happens with private jet companies, and because of this, you may find cheap flights up to 75% off the regular charter price.

These flights are quite different from your standard flights. Empty legs don’t usually show up until last minute, availability is unpredictable, and routes are limited.

Cancellations are common and the airline won’t rebook you like a commercial airline would, plus you can only book one way. You’ll be responsible for your own return trip.

You might be wondering why you’d even go for this option at all. Well, it’s partly to enjoy the experience—but also because sometimes you really can find a stellar deal if you’re not too concerned about the final destination.

While some private air charter companies let you browse empty legs directly on their website, you’ll get the best bang for your buck if you sign up for a membership for a company like Wheels Up , Delta Private Jets’ parent company.

Memberships start at about $3,000 per year, but then you’re able to access discounted empty leg flights for as little as $320 for the entire plane. So, if you want to treat a group of friends or family to an exciting weekend somewhere, this is a good way to do it.

Travelocity : Best For Price Matching

Who could forget the Travelocity gnome? Travelocity is one of those online travel agencies that seemingly has been around forever.

You won’t find any remarkable differences in the price of plane tickets on Travelocity compared to other sites, but it’s a good reliable service that has all the standard perks, like free cancellation within 24 hours.

The price match guarantee is one of the main perks of searching through Travelocity. If you can find the same cheap flight on another OTA for a better price, Travelocity will refund the difference in price, and also give you a $50 coupon to use on their site for future travels. You can use that coupon for hotel bookings, or hotel and flight packages.

Two caveats for the low price guarantee: the ticket price must be for an identical reservation on the other website, and you’ll have to find this price within 24 hours of booking the initial flight.

Travelocity does sometimes charge a booking fee, but if you’re super keen on snagging that price match guarantee, you could end up collecting a nice amount of cash over time for your efforts. My time is money, so I don’t typically go this route, but it may be worthwhile for some.

Hopper : Best Flight Website for Predicting Travel Deals

Hopper is actually a travel app that helps users find the best deals on flights and hotels, and reportedly predicts with a 95% accuracy when rates will go up or down. Hopper uses super specific algorithms to determine these predictions, and they’ve truly never let me down.

When you have some idea of when and where you’d like to travel (Asia in the fall, perhaps?), you can input your dates and destination into the app. Hopper will let you know when the price is expected to increase or decrease, so you can make better decisions and ultimately save money. And if a deal pops up, you can book it directly in the app!

You really have to use the Hopper app to make the most of this flight search tool. There’s not much you can play around with on a web browser. Luckily, the app is super intuitive and makes the online travel planning process an absolute delight (other than the pop-ups).

Here’s an example of their straightforward price trends, for a Montreal to Tokyo route:

If the price is expected to rise, you can book the flight immediately to grab the best deal possible. But if the app says the cost will drop in the future, you can “watch” the flight and ask to receive a notification when the fare drops.

Taking it one step further, you can actually pay a deposit on a “price freeze” so that the rate you’re seeing will be available to book for the next 20 days, even if the flight increases. And if the price drops within those 20 days, Hopper will offer a price match. You’ll pay the lower price and the deposit will go toward the total fare. But if you don’t book, you’ll lose your deposit too.

Side note: although Hopper doesn’t have a booking fee, they do include a $5 “tip” to every booking. You’re free to opt out of it, though.

Skiplagged : Best Flight Website for Hidden City Ticketing

When I first heard about “hidden city ticketing”, I thought it was a shady practice. It basically means booking a ticket that has a layover through the city where you actually want to travel to, and then getting off there instead of completing the flight.

For example, maybe you want to fly from Boston to Austin, but the flight is way too expensive. If you can find a cheaper flight from Boston to Houston with a stopover in Austin, then you can book that flight and just get off at your connecting flight (Austin is the hidden city here).

Using connecting airports to get off before the trip is complete only works if you’re traveling with just your carry-on luggage, and if you only book a one-way ticket (your whole flight will be cancelled if you don’t show up for the latter part of your reservation).

You shouldn’t use your frequent flier miles for this kind of trip either, as the airline may ding you for your points. So yeah, you can see why I’ve never been a fan of this method.

So is it illegal? No, not at all. Skiplagged even has the tagline, “Our flights are so cheap, United sued us…but we won.”

While there doesn’t seem to be any hidden city results here, the site still lists all the prices that might work for your route.

It’s also worth noting that you should obviously not book these kinds of hidden city fares for every single flight you book. If you grab a hidden city fare on the same destination with the same airline over and over, the airline is going to notice.

Expedia : Best Flight Website for Vacation Packages

Every now and then, I just want a nice, easy vacation package without any hassle.

If you can relate, you’ll probably want the full deal without having to think about it too much: the flights, the hotels, and the rental cars. Just a few clicks and boom, you’re done! The ever-popular, all-inclusive vacation comes to mind.

Expedia is another extremely well-known flight booking site like Travelocity that has been around for ages. It truly excels at bundling options for the ultimate vacation package for just about anywhere in the world.

On their Packages section, you can opt to add your hotel stays, flights, and rental cars. Or if you just want to book your hotel and flight together, you can do that too. Since Expedia is an OTA, it’s easy to click through to your options and book everything all at once.

For example, a quick search for week-long vacation packages in Hawaii (from LAX) immediately delivers a $5,357 package at the Ritz Carlton Maui with everything like flights and rental car included. You can choose to upgrade your room or flight if you like.

It’s all about convenience when it comes to booking high-end online travel like this. That being said, I still recommend pricing out each option individually to see if it’s cheaper to book each thing separately.

Expedia’s filters really do help you customize the perfect vacation (and they’re transparent about everything, even baggage fees).

TripAdvisor : Best Flight Booking Site for Airline Reviews

On one of my very first international trips back in my early 20s, I used TripAdvisor to meticulously plan where I’d stay and what I’d do. The TripAdvisor community is massive, and I ended up even meeting some new friends in the forums.

It only makes sense that TripAdvisor has evolved into such a beast of a website, now covering everything from flight deals to rental cars to tour activities. It’s way more comprehensive than other sites.

TripAdvisor is an aggregator, and they use quite a few OTAs I had never heard of before. So how does it stack up to other flight search sites?

To be honest, my search for TripAdvisor flights didn’t really come back with anything outstanding. But what I really loved about the process was how much information was readily available at my fingertips.

TripAdvisor has certainly amassed a ton of information over the years, and if you’re someone who appreciates the finer details of your trip planning, you’ll love the site.

For example, when searching round trip TripAdvisor flights from Rome to Istanbul, my search results returned a number of airlines I didn’t recognize. All I had to do was review the flight details and reviews for Sky Express that TripAdvisor had right there on the site to realize I definitely wasn’t keen on using that airline.

But from there, I can immediately click around the other tabs and see car rentals, recommended restaurants, hotel suggestions, vacation homes, and even cruises in Athens.

The site is remarkably intuitive and you’ll have no trouble planning a full trip this way. On the downside, everything is slow as hell and it often takes awhile to get any results for booking flights.

Orbitz : Best Flight Booking Site for Collecting Points

If you’re the kind of person who likes to earn frequent flyer miles or reap the benefit of customer loyalty programs, you’ll definitely appreciate the Orbitz rewards program.

Orbitz is an OTA that has been around since the early 2000s, and so it has earned its reputation as a reliable flight booking site. But it’s the Orbitz Rewards program that really sets it apart from the others.

When you book through Orbitz, you’ll earn points (Orbucks) on hotels, flights, and vacation packages. Whatever you’re booking, you’ll earn 1-2% of your purchase back in Orbucks (the percentage tends to be higher on their app).

The caveat? You can only redeem those Orbucks for hotels.

Still, it’s not a bad deal. For example, if you purchase a $1,000 flight, you’ll earn 10 Orbucks towards your hotel stay. After awhile, it adds up. The program is free to join as well.

Sometimes Orbitz does charge a booking fee, however. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for when the booking fee applies, but check your itinerary before finalizing your purchase. The fee itself could entirely defeat the purpose of the Orbucks.

Other than that, Orbitz has a 24-hour cancellation policy and a lowest price guarantee.

Kiwi : Best Flight Booking Site for Multi-Stop Travels

Kiwi.com is a relatively new OTA for me, and like other OTAs on this list, you can book directly on the website.

This flight booking website is super intuitive for booking multi-destination trips. It’s a joy to use! All you have to do is input the start and final destination points of your journey, and then fill in everything else in between (including how long you want to stay where).

The search results will put together a complete itinerary for you by pulling a number of different airlines and routes with the best price possible.

If you want to do some European country hopping, you can fly from Boston to London, spend a few days there before taking off to Portugal, tour around for awhile at your leisure, and then book your trip home from another city like Berlin.

The search results are super fast, and I appreciate how simply the results are broken down. Even the flight times are immediately visible. Can you believe that the entire route only cost $920 USD in total?

You also have the option to filter out your results so that you select the fastest, cheapest, or “best” routes.

Mind you, there are always hidden fees, like baggage fees. So be mindful of those. And also be sure to review your flight details closely—you won’t always be leaving from the same airport you’ve arrived in.

Final Thoughts: Best Websites to Book Cheap Flights

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the best website for booking your flight is the airline’s own website, unless you can find the lowest price elsewhere.

When you’re dealing with the airline’s own customer service for things like flight cancellations or delays, it’s much easier for them to directly solve the issues. That’s not to say that companies like Expedia or Orbitz have bad customer service—it’s just that they don’t have the same privileges as the airline to help you get your travel back on track.

The best thing to do is use one of these flight booking websites (or better yet, a combination of websites!) to do a little research, find the best flight deals, and then search for those flights on the airline’s website. You may have to mix and match airlines and airports, but it’s worth it if you’re saving hundreds of dollars.

Would I book directly with an OTA? Sure. But it’d have to be an excellent deal I can’t find anywhere else.

If there’s another flight booking site that you prefer to use, I’d love to hear all about it in the comments.

Best Flight Websites FAQ

Which website is best for flight booking.

The best website for booking flights is any website on this list that works best for you. Maybe there’s one website you enjoy using the most, or maybe it’s a few different websites to research and compare prices across the board.

It really comes down to personal preference, but it doesn’t mean you’ll always be getting the best rates. Skyscanner, Momondo, and Google Flights consistently find the cheapest flights and routes, but booking through the airline is always best in case there are delays or cancellations.

Which is the best website to use to book the cheapest flights?

The best website to use for booking cheap flights is whatever website returns the best value for your money.

That means that you’ll have to factor in all the things that may not show up immediately in the search results, such as baggage fees and other airline fees. Also take into account whether or not there’s a chance you may have to cancel or change your flight, as not all customer service is created equal!

Will I earn frequent flyer miles when I book through online travel agencies?

Yes, you will earn frequent flyer miles when booking through an online travel agency. And if you’re booking through an OTA like Orbitz, you’ll even collect points through their points program.

This isn’t the case when you’re booking hotels, however. You cannot use a hotel’s loyalty program when booking through an OTA.

What is the best flights website to buy cheap flights to Europe?

Skyscanner, Momondo, and Google Flights are my top three flight booking websites that I use when booking airfare to Europe. This is because they scour a seemingly limitless number of airlines and flight routes to deliver the best results posisble!

Candice Walsh

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6 Best Websites for Booking Cheap Flights

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The desire to get a good deal unites practically all travelers. Whether you're looking for a cheap getaway or a luxury vacation, no one wants to spend more than necessary. When it comes to booking flights, travelers may naturally head to an airline's website. However, that's not always the best site to book flights.

Whether it's taking advantage of credit card perks, earning bonus miles or saving money, the best flight booking site can vary depending on your situation and willingness to get creative. Let's take a look at six of the best sites to book flights and when each is the best option.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

The best flight booking sites

1. google flights.

For ease, speed and features, Google Flights is arguably the best website for flight searches. Search results appear almost instantly. Filters let you narrow down to nonstop options, select a subset of airlines, limit by price or factor in the price of a bag. Similarly, you can use Google Flights filters to avoid certain airlines, multi-stop itineraries, long layovers, early flights or pretty much whatever you might want to avoid.

You can easily check flexible dates, and if you're flexible on where you go you can use the Explore map to see prices for a variety of destinations for certain dates, a certain month or anytime in the next six months.

Google Flights partners with hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs) to pull current flight prices. That way you don't have to search each of these sites to be able to see the options. Once you select your preferred trip, Google Flights links you to the top booking options for actually booking your flight — including the airline itself and the best OTA booking options.

The downsides of Google Flights are few. One is the lack of Southwest flight prices. Although Southwest flight schedules will show in flight search results, Southwest flight prices aren't available. That's because Southwest chooses to publish flight prices only on its website.

» Learn more: Why Southwest is not on Google Flights

Another downside is that Google Flights doesn't always show the cheapest prices — particularly for international flights. That means it's worth double-checking prices on another site before booking through Google Flights.

Like Google Flights, Kayak searches hundreds of other websites and flight booking platforms to find the best deal. Kayak generally doesn't let you book flights directly. However, one benefit of Kayak is the streamlined process. Rather than having to click through several pages to confirm your selection, clicking "view deal" on the results page can take you right to the cheapest booking option.

Also, some travelers may find Kayak's flexible date search a bit easier to work with as you can see results from several days in the search results — eliminating the need to check each day's results separately.

But perhaps the most important reason to use Kayak instead of Google Flights is that it can catch better deals. For example, we found a $550 round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Barcelona using Google Flights. Kayak found a way to lower that price to just $472 round-trip — at least once you scroll past an advertisement.

Note that Kayak manages other flight search sites — including Momondo and Cheapflights — so the results may be very similar between these sister sites.

» Learn more: Is Kayak legit?

So far, we've focused on ease in flight searching, and that's going to be enough for many travelers. However, now let's add in some additional elements to consider when choosing the best flight booking site: earning rewards and saving by booking packages. Expedia excels at both of these.

Through the new One Key rewards program , travelers can earn 0.2% in OneKeyCash from flight bookings made through Expedia. That's not much, but it can stack on top of the awards you earn from the airline and those that you earn on your credit card purchase.

Even better, you'll earn credits toward One Key elite status by booking your flight through Expedia. As you climb up the tiers, you'll unlock up to 20% savings on hotels, get hotel upgrades, priority support and even price drop protection.

Plus, Expedia boasts that travelers can "save up to 30%" when bundling a hotel with a flight booking — although actual discounts are likely to vary.

» Learn more: The pros and cons of Expedia

4. Capital One Travel

For many Capital One cardholders, Capital One Travel might just be the best flight booking site. Part of this is to take advantage of cardholder benefits.

For example, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders earn 5x Capital One miles when booking flights through the Capital One Travel portal. Plus, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders get up to $300 off travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal each cardholder year.

» Learn more: How to maximize the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Also, Capital One Travel can help you truly get the best price for your flight. Capital One partnered with travel data company Hopper to show suggestions about when it's the best time to book.

Capital One backs up these recommendations with money. If you book a flight through Capital One Travel when Hopper recommends doing so, you'll get up to a $50 credit toward future travel if the price drops within the next 10 days.

» Learn more: How the Capital One Travel portal works

Would you be willing to book a trip as two separate tickets in order to save money? That's the idea behind Kiwi. Instead of simply searching flights from your home airport to your destination, Kiwi checks all potential options to get between A and B. That could mean taking a bus or train from your home city to another to catch a flight to your destination. Or, Kiwi might pair a low-cost domestic flight with a cheap international flight from another city to lower your total cost.

Protect your upfront travel expenses by booking with a card that has travel insurance or by purchasing a separate policy .

For example, when we priced out a round-trip flight from Phoenix to Tokyo, the cheapest option when booked as one ticket cost $1,353 round-trip — and that's with an overnight stay in Vancouver.

Pricing out the same itinerary and dates through Kiwi drops the price to just $789 round-trip. The secret? Booking this as two round-trip flights: One from Phoenix to Los Angeles on Frontier and a separate round-trip from Los Angeles to Tokyo on Zipair.

Keep in mind that there are risks with booking separate tickets to get where you want to go. If a delay or cancellation causes you to miss your connection, the second airline/bus/train company isn't obligated to honor your ticket and rebook you on the next option. So make sure to factor in all of the risks of booking travel like this.

» Learn more: When to use Kiwi for your next flight booking

6. BookWithMatrix

ITA Matrix is a very powerful and ultra-customizable search platform for finding exactly the flight itinerary you want — whether that's booking a longer layover, avoiding certain aircraft types or booking nerdy trips such as the Alaska Milk Run .

The catch: Travelers can't actually book flights through ITA Matrix. And, unlike Google Flights, ITA Matrix doesn't even link to the best flight booking site for that itinerary. Instead, travelers are left to attempt to re-create the same itinerary through another flight booking website — which can be hard in the case of certain complex itineraries.

Enter BookWithMatrix. Travelers can copy-paste their perfect itinerary from ITA Matrix into BookWithMatrix to get bookable links through the airline or select OTAs.

Alternatively, travelers have the option to install the PowerTools extension in Google Chrome .

This extension adds booking links right on the ITA Matrix itinerary page, avoiding the need to browse to another page.

Final thoughts on the best flight booking site

There's not a one-size-fits-all best website for booking flights. Instead, the best flight booking site for you is going to depend on how simple you want the process to be, whether you're willing to get creative with your booking, and even which credit cards you have.

For most travelers, the simplicity of Google Flights is going to make it the best one-stop shop for searching and booking flights. However, it's worth considering other options if you're flying internationally, want to book a flight-and-hotel package or have a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card .

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

$300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Best Online Travel Agencies

Booking.com is our top choice for making your trip arrangements

Ligaya Malones is an editor, blogger, and freelance writer specializing in food and travel. Ligaya's work has appeared in publications including Lonely Planet and BRIDES.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more .

Planning a trip can be easier through an online travel agency than if you handle each aspect of the planning separately. You can book hotels, air travel, rental cars, and more through a single site, and booking everything together sometimes results in discounts. By inputting a destination, a range of dates, and other preferences, you will see a list of options for each aspect of travel.

The best online travel agencies offer options from the largest number of airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, and more. Look for sites that offer discounts for combining reservations for different aspects of your trip. For example, the best sites will have lower rates if you book both plane tickets and a hotel through their services. The best sites also provide reviews from customers who actually have booked through the service. These are our top picks.

• Best Overall: Booking.com
• Best Budget: Skyscanner
• Best Price Predictor: Hopper
• Most Innovative: Kiwi.com
• Best for Eco-Conscious: Kind Traveler
• Best for Social Impact: I Like Local
• Best for Design-Forward Homestays: Plum Guide
• Our Top Picks
• Booking.com

Kind Traveler

I Like Local

• See More (4)

Final Verdict

Frequently asked questions, methodology, best overall : booking.com.

 Booking.com

This industry leader offers one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms on the Internet.

Lots of options to choose from

Interface is easy to use

Numerous filters to customize your search

Tricky to tell whether changes/cancellations can be made with Booking.com or the vendor directly

Booking.com was founded in 1996 and has grown into an industry leader that stands out for being one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms out there. From one website, you can compare and book accommodations, flights (including one-way and multi-city flights), sightseeing activities, and even airport taxis. The website lists more than 28 million accommodation options, from hotels, hostels, and B&Bs to vacation homes and luxury resorts—you can browse more choices per destination on Booking.com than other online travel agencies. The website also performs well on cost and typically returns lower-than-average prices for flights and hotels. 

Booking.com's interface is also easy to use. On the home page, search for a hotel by entering your chosen destination and dates. Then, use the extensive list of filters—such as price range and distance from the city center—to narrow the results down and find the best fit. You can also search for a specific hotel, or seek inspiration by clicking through options grouped by destination or property type or by topic such as the country’s best Michelin-starred hotel restaurants or the top cities for vegan travelers. The flights, car rental, and other tabs are just as intuitive. 

Best Budget : Skyscanner

 Skyscanner

You can compare prices across airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

Simple interface

Option to toggle searches between specific dates or by monthly calendars

Search Everywhere button is great for spontaneous planners

Extra clicks are required to make a final purchase

Must read fine print for changes/cancellations—may need to deal directly with the vendor

Ads on the sidebar can be distracting

Find deals on airfare, hotels, and car rentals with an aggregator site like Skyscanner , which uses a metasearch engine to compare prices from all online travel agencies and the airline, hotel, or car rental company in question. Run searches with fixed dates, opt to compare airfare prices month to month, or click “Cheapest Month.” Searches also include options for nearby airports or non-stop flights only. With hotel searches, you can choose to select only from properties with free cancellation, a cleanliness rating of 4.5/5 or higher, or 3- or 4-starred hotels only. Car rental searches include an option to select “return car to different location.”

Once you’ve found the best rate, click on the link to be redirected to the third-party site to make your booking. Feeling spontaneous? The Search Everywhere button on the homepage offers a list of the cheapest flight deals for destinations both locally and across the world—just plug in your departure airport first.

Best Price Predictor : Hopper

The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting when flights and hotel rates will be cheapest.

Color-coded system makes it easy to determine cheapest days to buy

App is easy to use

Option to track flights and receive alerts when the best time to buy arises

Some have mentioned the app functions better as a research tool than a booking tool

Unclear whether Hopper will price match if you find a cheaper flight elsewhere

Hopper is a travel app available on iOS and Android that aims to help travelers save on airfare by usng historical data and their own algorithm to predict when flights will be cheapest. Just type in where and when you’d like to fly and Hopper will present you with a color-coded pricing calendar indicating how much tickets are likely to cost. (Green is the least expensive, then yellow, orange, and red for most expensive.) Hopper will also recommend you either buy now or wait, or you can choose to watch a trip and receive notifications on the best time to buy. In addition, the app has expanded to offer hotel and car rental price predictions, too.

Some newer features since the app’s inception in 2009 include an option to freeze a price for a limited time—for an extra fee—as well as exclusive app-only discounts. Hopper is free to download, and you can choose to book directly through the app, though some users mentioned they use Hopper as more of a research tool before booking directly with the airline or hotel. The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting flight rates up to a year ahead.

Most Innovative : Kiwi.com

This metasearch engine scours the web to piece together the ideal itinerary using planes, trains, buses, and more.

Creative itineraries get you where you need to go, especially if you’ve got a multi-stop trip

Kiwi Guarantee offers rebooking or cancellation protections

Nomad option appeals to travelers with a lot of flexibility

Creative itineraries mean you may not fly out of the same airport you flew into

Kiwi Guarantee has an additional fee

Charges all-in-one fee for booking flights, trains, buses (though you can always purchase a la carte)

Travelers planning multi-city destinations and seeking a bargain, as well as those looking to take planes, trains, and automobiles to get there, might consider Kiwi . Kiwi is a metasearch engine that scours and pieces together itineraries from various airlines (even if they don’t have a codeshare agreement), considers multiple airports (even if your arrival airport is different from departure), and offers booking options, whether you’re looking at very specific dates or more general ones (up to 60 nights).

Some will find the ability to make multiple bookings for a particular trip more convenient than going at it manually several different times, though note that you must opt into the Kiwi Guarantee program to access rebooking and refund protections should your reservation change or be canceled. Kiwi’s Nomad option allows you to plug in a bunch of destinations you’d like to visit and the length of your intended stay, and the website will churn out the most affordable itineraries for review.

Best for Eco-Conscious : Kind Traveler

A give-and-get business model means booking accommodations with exclusive perks, a donation to environmental organizations, and more.

All participating hotels include a local give-back component

Exclusive savings and perks

Participating hotels are located in some of the most beautiful places in the world

Inventory is much smaller compared to other booking platforms

Some of the amenities mentioned are based on availability only

In 2022, Kind Traveler (an online trave agency focused on hotel bookings) announced an increase in environmentally and socially conscious hotels, charity donations, voluntourism opportunities, and additional perks like waived resort fees or a welcome amenity.

Unlock exclusive hotel rates and perks from participating Kind Traveler hotels with a minimum $10/night minimum donation to a local charity. For example, stay at the Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives and receive up to $33 off the nightly rate and perks such as a food and beverage credit and an Earth Lab or Alchemy Bar workshop when you make a donation to Manta Trust. The organization funds coastal research to protect the island nation’s large yet fragile population of reef mantas.

Select from more than 140 participating hotels from the Hawaiian Islands to Bozeman, Montana, and the Maldives. Charities include wildlife, human rights, arts, education, and environmental preservation organizations.

Best for Social Impact : I Like Local

Choose from a host of travel experiences with the peace of mind that 100 percent of the cost goes directly to local partners.

Social impact mission woven into organization’s business model

Immersive experiences led by local guides

Range of experiences offered

May not be best fit for those seeking upscale, luxury experiences and stays

Can’t sort experiences by a list of countries (though an interactive map is available)

No experiences outside of Africa and Asia

For an online travel agency with a booking platform designed to route dollars spent directly to the communities travelers intend to visit, consider I Like Local . Visit the website to browse a host of travel experiences in countries including Indonesia, Kenya, and Cambodia. Experiences include homestays and farmstays as well as wellness and culturally oriented experiences—from cooking and cycling tours to weaving classes.

To search for an experience, select from drop-down items like travel dates and experience categories, or view a global map and click on a country to view experiences that way.

The platform got its start in 2014 and has grown to 4,000 local hosts across nearly 20 countries. As a social impact organization, 100 percent of each booking fee goes to local hosts. To date, 16,000 travelers have booked with I Like Local.

Best for Design-Forward Homestays : Plum Guide

Browse and book seriously vetted, design-forward vacation homes.

Highly curated inventory of vacation rentals across the world

Design-forward

Thorough vetting process

Does not publish guest reviews

Other platforms have homes available across more destinations

When it comes to booking a vacation home, serviced apartment, or condo, travelers are spoiled for choice. Plum Guide is an online travel agency that specializes in accommodations—though not just any home makes its directory. The company claims that each potential home listed on its site must jump through 150 hoops to be included, from internet speed and mattress and pillow quality to the showers’ water pressure and the home’s proximity to dining, shopping, and attractions.

Search by a featured collection on the website such as “ pet-friendly homes ” or “one-of-a-kind homes in Palm Springs.” Scroll to the bottom of its homepage to view its top destinations, as well as a list of all destinations where Plum Guide homes are available, including Barbados, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, the U.S., and Turkey. Note: From the top right-hand corner of the site, use the dropdown menu to select currency of choice.

As long as you know what you value most out of your travel experience—such as affordability, social impact, or luxe accommodations—there’s an online travel agency to help plan your next trip. Be sure to read the fine print, as some agencies are third-party websites and not direct vendors. If you're not sure where to start, Booking.com is your best bet for a smooth user experience and hard-to-beat offers on flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements.

What Is the Biggest Travel Agency?

Our choice for best overall, Booking.com, is known as an industry leader with listings for all major hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and more. It boasts more choices for accommodations per destination than any other site, and we found its interface to be user-friendly.

Are Online Travel Agencies Worth It?

This depends on your needs and priorities. The best online travel agencies certainly can save time by booking everything all at once. However, if you're someone who is good at haggling and enjoys the details of planning a trip, you might be able to find better deals by reaching out to hotels or other destinations and speaking to someone personally.

Is It Cheaper to Book Online Than With a Travel Agent?

Not always. A travel agent you know and trust should have the experience and connections to find deals that can match or surpass what you'll find online. Additionally, if something goes wrong, travel agents provide you with an actual person you can use as an advocate to correct the problem . But if you don't have access to a good travel agent, online sites still provide plenty of ways to streamline planning and save money .

We considered dozens of online travel agencies and narrowed down the options based on user experience, volume and quality of inventory, unique offerings and specials, and customer reviews. We also assessed travel companies’ environmentally and socially conscious policies.

Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images

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Saving Money on Your Summer Vacation

• KAYAK for Business NEW

Compare flights from 100s of sites.

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Fort Lauderdale

• Days Inn by Wyndham Fort Lauderdale Airport Cruise Port $65+
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• Flight Los Angeles - Las Vegas (LAX - LAS) $22+
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• Freehand Chicago $35+
• Chicago Getaway Hostel $46+
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• Flight Atlanta - Chicago (ATL - ORD) $42+
• Flight Dallas - Chicago (DFW - ORD) $51+
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San Francisco

• Hi San Francisco Downtown Hostel $51+
• The Mosser $73+
• Chancellor Hotel On Union Square $114+
• Flight Ontario - San Francisco (ONT - SFO) $36+
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• Flight Phoenix - San Francisco (PHX - SFO) $58+

Washington, D.C.

• Generator Hotel Washington DC $70+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Washington DC/Connecticut Avenue $123+
• Georgetown Residences by LuxUrban, Trademark Coll by Wyndham $148+
• Hotel Harrington $164+
• Citizenm Washington DC Noma $168+
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• Henley Park Hotel $192+
• Hyatt Place Washington DC/US Capitol $196+
• Morrison Clark Historic Inn $200+
• Citizenm Washington Dc Capitol $200+
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• Washington Plaza Hotel $202+
• Flight Atlanta - Baltimore (ATL - BWI) $34+
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• Boutique Hostel $34+
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• Selina Gold Dust $52+
• Motel 6 Miami. Fl $73+
• La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Miami Airport North $84+
• Miami Gardens Inn & Suites $86+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Miami International Airport $91+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East $98+
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami-Kendall $112+
• Radisson Red Miami Airport $113+
• The Palms Inn & Suites Miami, Kendall, Fl $114+
• Holiday Inn Miami West - Airport Area $119+
• Courtyard by Marriott Miami West/FL Turnpike $123+
• Flight Atlanta - Miami (ATL - MIA) $42+
• Flight Philadelphia - Miami (PHL - MIA) $46+
• Flight Chicago - Miami (MDW - MIA) $55+
• Flight Chicago - Miami (ORD - MIA) $58+
• Flight Baltimore - Miami (BWI - MIA) $60+
• Flight Raleigh - Miami (RDU - MIA) $63+
• Flight Dallas - Miami (DFW - MIA) $67+
• Flight Boston - Miami (BOS - MIA) $68+
• Flight Charlotte - Miami (CLT - MIA) $73+
• Flight Detroit - Miami (DTW - MIA) $73+
• Hometowne Studios by Red Roof Denver - Glendale/Cherry Creek $64+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Denver Stapleton $75+
• Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver International Airport $97+
• Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver Airport $100+
• Comfort Suites Denver International Airport $101+
• Quality Inn & Suites Denver International Airport $101+
• Baymont by Wyndham Denver International Airport $101+
• Flight Chicago - Denver (ORD - DEN) $37+
• Flight Minneapolis - Denver (MSP - DEN) $38+
• Flight Dallas - Denver (DFW - DEN) $47+
• Flight Detroit - Denver (DTW - DEN) $65+
• Flight Los Angeles - Denver (LAX - DEN) $69+
• Flight Ontario - Denver (ONT - DEN) $69+
• Flight Atlanta - Denver (ATL - DEN) $75+
• Hi Boston Hostel $61+
• Found Hotel Boston Common $101+
• Ramada by Wyndham Boston $153+
• Flight Baltimore - Boston (BWI - BOS) $55+
• Flight Miami - Boston (MIA - BOS) $68+
• Flight Orlando - Boston (MCO - BOS) $75+
• Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Atlanta Airport $63+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Atlanta Airport North $100+
• Sonesta Atlanta Airport North $105+
• Flight Orlando - Atlanta (MCO - ATL) $23+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Atlanta (FLL - ATL) $30+
• Flight Detroit - Atlanta (DTW - ATL) $31+
• Generator Madrid $34+
• C&h Aravaca Garden $39+
• Toc Hostel Madrid $44+
• Flight New York - Barcelona (JFK - BCN) $360+
• Rodeway Inn Fairgrounds-Casino $68+
• Econo Lodge Airport at RJ Stadium $69+
• Tampa Inn Near Busch Gardens $70+
• Flight Philadelphia - Florida (PHL - USFL) $37+
• Flight Baltimore - Florida (BWI - USFL) $51+
• Flight Newark - Florida (EWR - USFL) $55+
• Flight Atlanta - Tampa (ATL - TPA) $50+
• Flight Philadelphia - Tampa (PHL - TPA) $56+
• Flight Raleigh - Tampa (RDU - TPA) $57+

New Orleans

• Ramada by Wyndham New Orleans $68+
• Wyndham Garden Hotel Baronne Plaza $93+
• Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Canal St. French Quarter $102+
• Flight Houston - New Orleans (HOU - MSY) $46+
• Flight Dallas - New Orleans (DFW - MSY) $50+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - New Orleans (FLL - MSY) $53+

Frequently asked questions about KAYAK

How do i find travel deals on kayak.

Simply use one of our travel search engines to scan for prices gathered from hundreds of travel sites. KAYAK’s search results pages have loads of filter options to help you find deals, discover exactly what you’re looking for and make booking seamless. Plus, there’s no extra fee from KAYAK.

How can I use KAYAK to manage my travel bookings?

KAYAK Trips creates a travel itinerary for you that will give you flight status alerts, can be shared with friends and more. Simply forward your booking confirmations to [email protected] or use the KAYAK app and sync your email account to keep all your travel plans organized in one app, even if you didn’t book with KAYAK. You can share your holiday plans with friends and family and also check out your travel stats for past vacations, like how far you’ve traveled, your most popular cities and how many times you’ve traveled around the world. Even if you don’t have signal, don’t worry, as you can access Trips to check out your itineraries whilst on the road. Your data is safe and secure with us and you won’t have to re-enter credit card info when booking future trips. If you want to make changes or cancel bookings, then you should contact the travel provider, which is provided on the booking confirmation.

What makes KAYAK a great travel app?

On the KAYAK app for iOS and Android you’ll find all the great travel offers found on the website and much more. There are special mobile rates and app only deals that allow you to save even more money. Plus, you can get notifications straight to your phone letting you know when prices for your next trip have dropped. But the KAYAK app is much more than just a travel app. Use the Trips function to manage your travel itinerary and get up to date status alerts on flights, check-in changes and to store your boarding pass. Even if you’re in the middle of nowhere on your travels, you can still access your travel notes via Trips, as no internet connection is required.

What are KAYAK Price Alerts?

Instead of manually checking back in on the price of your next flight or stay, let KAYAK do the hard work for you with KAYAK Price Alerts. Once you’ve saved your search, our data will determine how the price will rise or fluctuate over the coming days. You’ll then get a push notification letting you know when’s the perfect time to book.

The Complete Guide to Booking Travel Online

What is an online travel agency, and what are the best sites and apps to use to search for hotels and flights we break it all down for you..

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There’s a lot to navigate when researching and booking travel online.

Photo by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

My first travel adventure was to Venezuela. I booked the ticket with a travel agent over a pay phone. The agent searched a dozen flight itineraries over a few days, all so I could save $15.

Times have changed. Today, flight searches start online , often on your mobile device. Passengers book either directly with the airline or hotel or with online travel agencies. Rarely do we get on the phone. In fact, American Airlines and United Airlines charge $25 to make a domestic flight booking by phone. And pay phones hardly exist anymore.

So, what is the best way to book online? Here is our complete guide to online travel agencies, search tools, and the variety of booking options available on both mobile devices and desktops.

What is an OTA?

An online travel agency, or OTA, is a website or mobile app that allows users to search for and book travel services such as flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and activities. The booking is made directly with the online travel agency but confirmed by the service provider, such as an airline or a hotel. As a customer, your relationship is with the OTA.

What are the main OTAs?

Many online travel agencies nowadays are owned by two main companies: Expedia and Priceline. The Expedia Group is the largest online travel agency in the United States with 70 percent market share, according to travel data firm Phocuswright. Expedia Group operates Expedia.com , Orbitz, Hotels.com , Trivago, CheapTickets , Hotwire , Vrbo , and Travelocity .

Priceline is a major competitor to Expedia, with global revenues larger than the Expedia Group. The company owns Priceline.com, Booking.com, Cheapflights, Momondo, and Kayak—the latter two being metasearch engines (more on that below).

There are also independent newcomers such as Hopper (a mobile-only booking tool) and Kiwi.com (which allows you to book flights on air carriers that don’t normally have a commercial relationship).

Are OTA fares lower than booking directly?

Generally, no. The fares that are displayed by an OTA will be similar if not slightly more expensive when compared to an airline’s website. They’re usually only a few dollars higher or lower. The OTAs charge a booking fee to the airlines, and often that fee is passed directly to consumers. For example, Lufthansa tacks on an additional $18 to any booking made through an OTA for Lufthansa flights. The same flights are exactly $18 cheaper on the airline’s website.

Where you can score a good travel deal through an OTA is when booking a last-minute hotel and flight package. Many OTAs have cut agreements with airlines allowing last-minute travelers to access lower rates than are typically available when passengers book a flight alone.

Are all airlines available to be booked through OTAs?

No. Many OTAs do not display flights from some of the low-fare leaders. For example, Southwest and Allegiant flights are not available through OTAs; the same goes for Ryanair in Europe. And, earlier this year United Airlines threatened to pull out of Expedia altogether, only recently signing a multi-year agreement to stay in. The airlines would rather not lose any margin to online travel agencies in an already low-margin industry and would rather maintain a direct relationship with the customer.

Are smaller OTAs safe to use?

Expedia and Priceline are the two largest players in the online booking space, but there are dozens of independent OTAs, such as CheapOAir, OneTravel, JustFly, and SmartFares. Confusingly, you might actually stumble on ads for these OTAs while using Expedia or Priceline sites. That’s because the larger OTAs earn revenue through advertising, sending passengers to smaller OTAs and charging those OTAs for the favor.

Buyer beware: some of these lesser-known OTAs are masters at hidden fees. For example, a flight search on JetBlue allows for free seat selection in many instances. If you perform the same search on FlightNetwork, an independent OTA, and select a seat, you will be charged an additional $25—despite the fact that JetBlue doesn’t charge a seat selection fee if you book directly.

What if you need to change your itinerary?

Itinerary changes are often a pain. If your plans change, it won’t matter whether you’ve booked directly with an airline or with an OTA—you’re going to pay fees for the privilege, if you can even change your ticket at all.

For example, CheapTickets.com, which is part of the Expedia Group, charges $25 to change or cancel a ticket if that change is requested after 24 hours of making the booking—it is free if you do so within 24 hours of booking. However, the fees go up from there. JustFly, an independent OTA, charges a $75 fee for changes to domestic flights in addition to airline change fees, plus the difference in fare, for tickets that can be changed. For an international trip, the fee rises to $200. That means to change an international flight with Delta (which charges a $100 change fee) booked through JustFly, you’ll be assessed $300 in fees, plus the difference in fare. At that rate, you may as well book a new flight. FlightNetwork indicates in its terms of service that changes may incur a change fee but doesn’t specify what those fees are. That hardly makes the few dollars you saved by booking with the OTA in the first place worth it.

What is an OTA price match policy?

To assure travelers that they are getting the lowest fare possible, many OTAs have a price match policy. The rules vary and so do the benefits.

For example, if you book with Orbitz and find a less expensive flight, car rental, or activity on any U.S.-based website within 24 hours of your booking, Orbitz will refund you the difference you paid. And it works: I have personally found a flight in the same class, on the same airline, for the same origin and destination cities, and requested Orbitz to refund the difference of around $35. Within a few weeks, I received a check in the mail. A similar program applies for CheapOAir, but there’s a catch—the price difference must be found on a major OTA such as Expedia or Travelocity.

Expedia has a particularly good price match policy, but you have to pay extra for it at the time of booking. Expedia offers the price match option as an add-on that costs between $5 and $30 when you book. With the price match applied, if the airfare on Expedia drops between 120 days of the flight and up to six hours before the flight, Expedia will automatically refund you the difference in fare. Unfortunately, fares generally do not drop substantially as the travel date approaches, so while this might give you peace of mind, it’s probably not worth the expense.

How do Google Flights and other travel metasearch engines work?

Frequent fliers are likely familiar with websites such as Google Flights, Kayak, Momondo, or Skyscanner. On these websites, passengers search on the site but are redirected to the service provider to complete the booking, such as an airline, rental car company, or hotel.

Metasearch started with a product called ITA Matrix, which is a tool for searching airfares online but not for actually booking online. ITA Matrix allows for multi-city searching, such as setting two different departure or arrival airports, and for offering a calendar view of fares for easier comparison. That company was acquired by Google in 2011, and savvy travelers swear by it to help find the least expensive fares online. Most consumers are more familiar with Google Flights, which has gained traction more recently not least because it has the benefit of being displayed first in search results on Google.

Metasearch engines receive distribution fees from the airlines for sending traffic to the supplier websites. There are no additional hidden fees for using a metasearch engine because you’re booking directly with the airline or hotel.

A major benefit of the metasearch engines is their price tracking tool, which lets users know whether the displayed fares are low, average, or high for the flight, allowing travelers to make a more informed decision on whether to book a flight or not . Google Flights and Kayak, for instance, both have price tracking tools.

Why not just book directly?

The airlines would definitely much rather you book directly with them. Over the past five years, they have gotten much better at marketing and selling their product directly to consumers online and through mobile sites and apps. But in the past, they weren’t so good at it. In fact, Delta, Northwest, United, American, and Continental got together to invest $145 million to launch Orbitz in 1999 to counter the threat from Expedia. Now Orbitz is owned by Expedia.

The airlines also try to encourage customers to book directly so that they can maintain a closer relationship with them. It allows carriers to connect bookings with loyalty programs and create special offers and discounts catered to individual passengers.

There is another benefit to booking directly. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty, so long as the booking is made at least seven days before travel. The law applies, however, only to U.S. and foreign air carriers that have websites marketed to U.S. consumers. This means that, in theory, an online travel agency does not have to offer such a policy, although most OTAs do.

What are the options for booking on your mobile device?

Airlines and the major OTAs all have apps to help you book and manage your trip on your mobile device, but their functionality is lacking compared to these websites’ desktop editions. For example, Expedia’s app doesn’t allow you to view flights on a month-view calendar. Kayak has an app with more bells and whistles and a better user interface, including a month-view calendar with color-coded pricing. It also has a handy “augmented reality” function to help you see if your carry-on bag will fit in the overhead bin (a feature originally developed by KLM). Point your phone’s camera at the luggage, and it’ll give you the dimensions.

While apps are improving and gaining in popularity, you still might find it easier to locate the best deals on flights and hotels by using your desktop, where you can have multiple tabs open and have all the available search tools at your disposal. Apps are fine for booking directly with an airline once you know which flights you want to book.

If you’re determined to use your mobile device, you may want to look into Hopper. Hopper is a mobile-first flight booking tool that has a solid price prediction tool. You can research travel options and book directly on the app. Another benefit of Hopper: Of its team of 300 employees, nearly half are dedicated to customer support and are based in Canada versus some OTAs and airlines that outsource much of their customer service further afield.

The bottom line?

Like many travelers, I enjoy a flight deal as much as the next person, but I also don’t like any added hassle. I typically start my travel searches using the ITA Matrix or Google Flights to get a general sense of the fares. It helps to know what is a good deal and what is expensive for a particular route. I do my research, typically on a desktop computer. When I’m ready to book, I’ll book directly with the airline. I’ve found that customer service is better when booking directly with the service provider. But I’ve also saved money by using OTAs and have booked with them, too. Whichever way you choose to book, you can be safe in the knowledge that finding and purchasing travel online is a lot easier today than searching for a deal with a travel agent on a pay phone.

>> Next: How to Get the Best Last-Minute Travel Deals

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The 10 best online travel agencies in 2024

The top 10 online travel agencies.

• Booking.com
• Lastminute.com

Best online travel agencies for business travel

1. travelperk.

Main offerings and features:

• Industry-leading travel inventory
• Flexible booking with FlexiPerk
• Safety alerts with TravelCare
• Integrated travel policy & approval flows
• Centralized invoicing
• Easy & real-time expense reports
• Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk
• 24/7 fast customer support in target 15s
• VAT reclaim
• Integration with 3rd party tools , such as expense management or HR software like Expensify and BambooHR

Save time and money on your business travel with TravelPerk

2. sap concur.

• Works with some of the biggest brands
• Easy tracking and reporting of expenses for expense reports
• Many connected apps, such as Uber and Airbnb for cars and hotels
• One solution for a variety of business travel spending

Click below to compare both platforms’ features and benefits

• Ample integrations
• Award-winning mobile app
• Employee-centric travel management

Click below for a more detailed comparison between both platforms:

Best online travel agencies for leisure travel, 1. booking.com.

• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Flight + Hotel booking for easily planning trips with no cross-referencing travel websites
• Simple car rental options and taxi hire
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries
• You can book experiences in your destination city to entertain you on your travels
• Genius rewards program

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer support service
• Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking
• Millions of reviews to help make your decision

3. Lastminute.com

• Filter hotels according to budgets, star ratings, guest ratings, board types, and more
• ATOL protection on flight + hotel bundles
• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Payment plans to spread out the cost of travel
• Extra entertainment booking for your trips, like theatrical productions and day trips
• Gift cards for gifting travel

• Expedia rewards for hotels, cars, and more
• Experienced support
• Compare cruise lines
• Big savings when booking flights, hotels, and car
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages
• Luxury travel options

• Book hotels, flights, cars, and bundles
• 24/7 support
• Lower prices on the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travel

6. Bookmundi

Best online travel agencies for flights

1. skyscanner.

• Super flexible booking filters
• Cheaper flights and hotels than other OTAs
• Price alerts for travel routes of interest
• Easy-to-use booking tool and UI
• Hundreds of location and currency options
• One-way, return, and multi-city travel options

2. Kiwi.com

• Simple flight booking tool
• Partnerships with Booking.com and Rentalcars.com
• Discover deals anywhere with the option to open up your search
• Easy-to-use app

How do online travel agencies work?

What are the advantages of booking through an online travel agency.

• Access to comparison tools
• Peer reviews to help you with your decisions
• Flexible cancellation policies
• All your travel in one place
• Local flights and deals

Rewards programs

Comparison tools, peer reviews, flexible cancellation.

Flexiperk: Cancel anytime, anywhere. Get a minimum of 80% of your money back.

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7 best travel agency software to boost revenue in 2024

• 11 min read

What is travel agency software?

What should you look for in software to manage your travel agency.

• best software for travel agencies in 2024 

Your client's experience with your travel agency starts well before they set off on their trip. Instead, their journey begins the moment they go to your website to see what your agency has to offer. From there, communication, itinerary planning, payment options, and timely updates are all important components of the overall package that make up a great travel booking experience.

The best travel agency software helps you provide the service you need to foster strong relationships, retain clients, and drive revenue.

Read our list of the 7 best travel agency software tools in 2024 to transform your agency into a premier destination of its own.

Travel agency software covers any tools that can help your travel agency operate more efficiently, delight your customers, and find and book hotels, air travel, trains, and car rentals.

Some tools help book flights and hotels, while others are focused on marketing, client communication, or building a website that converts visitors.

The best travel agency software should help you streamline your workflows and give your clients the service they need. Here’s what to look out for when evaluating tools for your travel agency.

• Travel options: Good booking software should give you access to a wide range of flights, hotels, car rentals, and tours.
• Cost reduction: Travel is expensive. Good travel agency software ensures that you can get prices that are acceptable to your clients while leaving you with enough profit.
• Customer experience: The best software for travel agencies gives your clients an excellent customer experience. Branded client portals are effective ways to centralize client communication and provide excellent transparency.
• Efficiency: Travel arrangements require complex and often disparate workflows. Any travel agency software you choose should be able to streamline your workflows so your service is fast and efficient.

Now that we know what to look out for, let’s get into our list of our favorite tools to run your travel agency.

10 best software for travel agencies in 2024 

Here are our top picks for the best travel agency software available on the market today:

Alright, let’s take a look at what each tool does, how much it costs, and what real customers have to say about them.

1. TravelPerk

• Best for: Booking trips for your clients
• Pricing: Starts at $99 per month, plus 3% of each booking

TravelPerk is an all-in-one tool for booking and managing everything your client needs for a trip. The tool gives travel agencies access to a wide range of flights, hotels, trains, and cars, so they can put together superb inventories at great prices. While it’s a great choice for travel agencies, it’s also a good option for large teams who need business travel management solutions.

The TravelPerk interface is clean and modern. It acts as a portal to an incredible travel inventory that is capable of meeting all your clients' needs. The search filters are solid and remove a lot of time-consuming tasks. The mobile app is another great feature that allows agents to work on the go.

Other interesting features of the app include carbon footprint tracking, which is a good tool for environmentally conscious clients. What’s more, if you have a lot of business travel clients, you can take advantage of VAT recovery and even integrate individual travel policies into the platform to track travel expenses.

Overall, TravelPerk saves you time on bookings while giving you access to a wide range of inventory. What’s not to like?

TravelPerk notable features

• A centralized platform to help streamline the booking process
• Access to a huge inventory of flights, hotels, and transport options
• Carbon footprint tracking

TravelPerk reviews

Here is what real TravelPerk customers have to say about the solution.

• G2: 4.6/5 ⭐
• Capterra: 4.8/5 ⭐
• GetApp:   4.7/5 ⭐

• Best for: Client management and communication
• Pricing: Starts at $29 per month per user

Copilot is the platform service businesses are built on. It allows firms and agencies of all sizes to bring their entire tech stack under one roof. From communication, contracts, payments, intake forms, and more, Copilot is a one-stop shop for running a service business. And because running a travel agency is very customer-focused work, Copilot focuses mainly on the client experience and the customer-facing side of your business. The goal is to create such a great, personalized customer experience that your clients keep coming back to you to plan their trips.

Some Copilot features that work well for travel agencies include customizable intake forms so you can better understand your client’s travel needs. These forms help you collect pertinent information that you can easily transfer into an integrated CRM tool. What’s more, you can build beautiful branded client portals to centralize itinerary planning and other requirement discussions.

A client portal also offers secure file-sharing, which you can use for travel documents, visas, and information about flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. Having all these documents available on the cloud and in one centralized place is a huge benefit for your clients.

Another great Copilot feature that will help your travel agency is the in-built payment management. You can create invoices, subscriptions, and offer secure checkout — which means your clients have flexible and easy ways to pay for their travel.

Overall, Copilot is an indispensable tool for travel agencies who want to demonstrate their professionalism and trust by providing a user-friendly client portal that your customers will love.

Copilot notable features

• Automated onboarding workflows that help you collect important client details and cut down on your admin work.
• Integrated payment portals that offer clients different payment options, including subscription payments.
• White-label client portals that centralize communications share important travel documents and keep everyone up to date about how travel plans are progressing.

Copilot reviews

Here is what real Copilot customers have to say about the solution:

• G2: 4.8/5 ⭐
• Capterra: 4.9/5 ⭐
• Software Advice: 4.9/5 ⭐

3. WeTravel

• Best for: Payments for group travel
• Pricing: Starts at $79 per month, with custom plans for travel agents

WeTravel started out life as a platform to help simplify payments for group tour operators. However, it has expanded over the years and now it is used by travel agents to solve the complexity of group travel.

The big idea with WeTravel is that you can easily generate a slick, professional page for group trips. Your page means you can centralize everything you need for the trip and include photos, itinerary descriptions, and traveler information.

However, perhaps the best feature is the secure payment portal that solves the messy problem of taking payment from a wide array of travelers. Clients can pay by card or electronic transfers, and you can even offer payment plans.

WeTravel’s easy-to-use interface and superb drag-and-drop inventory creation are excellent features for small travel agencies who want to provide high-quality and polished customer experiences. Their processing fees are just 1%, which is very competitive.

You can also integrate WeTravel with marketing tools to help you capture leads and send out promotional materials for various trips. However, WeTravel might not work for very complex itineraries. Additionally, it’s mobile-friendliness does need a little work. But don’t let that put you off, because WeTravel is a great tool to have in your arsenal.

WeTravel notable features

Wetravel reviews.

Here is what real WeTravel customers have to say about the solution.

• G2: 4.1/5 ⭐
• GetApp:   4.8/5 ⭐

4. Avochato

• Best for: Text message notifications
• Pricing: Starts at $19 per month, with custom plans for busier agencies

Keeping clients up to date on travel information is a big challenge these days. One of the best ways to ensure that clients have the information they need is by SMS because the technology has incredible open rates of around 98% .

Avochato is an SMS business communication platform. While it’s not solely focused on travel agencies, it’s used widely across the industry to provide the swift and personalized communication that clients treasure.

Conversational customer support is a big advantage in relationship businesses like travel. Avochato helps teams deal with booking inquiries, trip updates, promotional messages, and even gathering feedback. It’s very intuitive, and if you’re a growing agency, it’s more than capable of scaling with you.

However, WeTravel is not perfect. For starters, it’s very US-focused, which might not work for every travel agency. What’s more, it’s a little pricer than some other SMS solutions out there. Finally, while it does provide support for video and images via MMS, the communications might lack the immersion of a client portal or email communication. That said, it’s a great tool for communicating critical information that won’t get lost in your client’s inbox.

Avochato notable features

• Shared team inbox that allows multiple agency staff to communicate with clients
• Excellent integration with CRM tools
• Broadcast or schedule SMS messages for announcements, reminders, offers, and trip details

Avochato reviews

Here is what real Avochato customers have to say about the solution.

• G2: 4.4/5 ⭐
• Capterra: 4.7/5 ⭐

• Best for: Business travel bookings
• Pricing: Starts at $4 per booking

BizAway launched in Stockholm, Sweden, almost a decade ago with the goal of streamlining the travel process for businesses and agencies. Since then, it has expanded internationally, but it is still primarily focused on the European market.

Some of the problems that BizAway solves include fragmented, time-consuming, and frustrating booking experiences across multiple platforms. It’s also adept at expense management and compliance with business travel policies, with a particular focus on approvals and policy control.

While BizAway is the best tool for European travel, that’s not to say that it won’t work for different regions. Indeed, they have a huge inventory for worldwide travel thanks to widespread access to various travel suppliers.

The booking interface is gorgeous and makes it simple to find and secure hotels, car rentals, trains, and more from inside the platform. It also integrates well with CRM, HR, and accounting software, making it a good choice for both travel agencies and corporations.

Overall, BizAway makes our list of the best travel agency software because it can save you money on travel packages. For travel agencies, any tool that helps you achieve better margins is worth having in your software stack. Sure, it might lack some of the deep customization options of its competitors, but make no mistake, this is a solid solution that makes travel and booking management far easier.

BizAway notable features

• Superb user interface booking system
• Excellent and in-depth reporting tools
• Superb expense management and policy control tools for corporate travel clients

BizAway reviews

Here is what real BizAway customers have to say about the solution:

• Software Advice: 4.7/5 ⭐
• GetApp: 4.7/5 ⭐

• Best for: Building a travel agency website
• Pricing: Starts at $14 per month, but busy agencies will need higher-tier plans

Webflow is a visual website building site with CMS and hosting capabilities. It allows businesses of every type to build professional-looking custom websites that are ready for the modern age.

While there are many solid template-based website builders out there, Webflow is a winning choice for travel agencies for a number of reasons. Firstly, travel marketing is heavily reliant on images. Webflow helps you sell experiences because it handles visuals superbly. Additionally, it offers great responsive design, which is essential for clients who browse for trips via mobile. Finally, Webflow integrates well with third-party custom booking systems.

Weflow is flexible enough to suit a wide variety of travel agencies, from small operators to luxury travel websites. It’s very easy to build a site that will totally wow your clients without knowing any code. This feature will save you money on maintenance and getting your site built. When you add in Webflow’s hosting, these advantages alone are enough to justify its monthly price.

Another thing to consider is that Webflow builds fast-loading websites. Website loading speed is important to clients, and it’s also an SEO ranking factor. But that’s not the only way that Webflow will help with SEO. It also comes with SEO tools that help you structure your site so that you maximize visibility and promote organic site visits.

Overall, Webflow is a powerful web design tool that lets you build superb, visually appealing websites. A well-designed, secure, and fast-loading website is the first step on the path towards building trust and credibility, which are essential in the travel industry.

Webflow notable features

• Customizable design that helps you create a unique and visually striking website without coding
• Build in CMS to manage your destinations, tours, packages, blog content, and more
• Easy integration with booking and payment tools

Webflow reviews

Here is what real Webflow customers have to say about the solution.

• Capterra: 4.6/5 ⭐
• GetApp:   4.6/5 ⭐

• Best for: Customer operations
• Pricing: Starts at $59 per month

Since Front was launched in 2013, it has become widely adopted by travel agencies and other businesses as a way to enhance collaboration and customer communication via shared email inboxes.

Travel planning involves a lot of communication with hotels, car rentals, tour operators, trains and buses, and so on. Front helps you centralize these communications so that nothing is missed or forgotten.

The front really comes into its own for travel agencies, thanks to a few core features. Firstly, it’s a great way to collaborate on travel inventories because members can leave notes, assign tasks, and trash out the finer details, all in one place. What’s more, the booking tools are great for group planning.

If you’re a very small travel agency, some of the features might feel excessive. However, for busy teams, you can customize Front around your workflows, benefit from data & analytics tools, and get real-time visibility into which tasks your agents are handling, and which have fallen through the cracks.

Overall, Front ensures that your back office is streamlined, efficient, and on top of everything.

Front notable features

• Shared inboxes are a great way to provide much-needed visibility and oversight into disparate travel communications
• Superb templates for providing travel updates
• Excellent integration with CRM and booking tools

Front reviews

Here is what real BizAway customers have to say about the solution.

• G2: 4.7/5 ⭐
• GetApp: 4.6/5 ⭐

The best travel agency software makes life easy for you and your clients. Whether it’s by giving you access to a wider range of hotels and flights, ensuring your communication is timely, and that you can offer flexible ways for your client to pay.

Copilot’s super client portals help you streamline your onboarding, client communication, progress, document sharing, and payments. Sign up for a free Copilot trial today and take a holiday away from disorganized communication, inefficiency, and slow payments.

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Delta Air Lines, KLM and Air France host Agency Elite night

Post date: Apr 8 2024

Date: Apr 8 2024

By: Travelweek

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines, KLM and Air France joined forces to celebrate their top-tier agencies to an exclusive event held at the Delta Flight Museum at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.

Participants were greeted with a warm welcome from airline execs, followed by a guided tour of the museum, where they explored the rich history of aviation and Delta’s legacy, and where vintage aircraft, interactive exhibits, and artifacts showcased the evolution of air travel.

The award-winning agencies were recognized for their outstanding contributions, commitment and partnership.

The evening was capped with a special dinner under the wings of a restored B767.

Here’s the list Agency Elite 2024 award recipients (in alphabetical order):

• ABC – Jade Travel
• Airline Ticket Centre
• Air Miles Reward Program
• American Express
• Direct Travel
• Flight Centre Travel Group Canada
• Huntington Travel
• Maritime Travel
• Mondee Canada Inc.
• Omega Travel
• Royal Scenic Holidays Travel Inc
• SkyLink Voyages Inc.
• Skyroute| Voyzant
• Tour East Holidays
• TravelBrands

Tags: Delta Air Lines, Lead Story

What travelers should know about FAA advisory on total solar eclipse before April 8

The total solar eclipse is nearing, so the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is offering guidance to commercial planes and private aircraft ahead of the phenomenon .

The "Great North American Eclipse" will occur on April 8 . During this cosmic event, the Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun and travel " a narrow path of totality from southwest to northeast across thirteen U.S. states," the government agency said.

Millions of people will want to view it from the ground . But what about those who are airborne?

For many passengers, the impact should be limited to the types of delays associated with high-travel days.

"Due to the high volume of traffic along the eclipse path, (airport) arrivals can expect lengthy delays during peak traffic periods," the FAA said.

The eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean and cross North America, passing over Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, according to the FAA. The eclipse's path will affect the U.S. from 2:30 p.m. EST to 3:40 p.m. EST, the agency said.

Airports in Texas, Vermont, Maine, Canada, New Hampshire, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri will be primarily affected by the eclipse , the FAA said.

"The purpose of this notice is to inform airmen of the possible impacts to air traffic and airports along the eclipse path during the period April 7, 2024, (6 a.m. EST) through April 10, 2024, (midnight EST)," the FAA said.

When is the 2024 total solar eclipse? Your guide to glasses, forecast, where to watch.

What the FAA is saying about aircraft ahead of the eclipse

In preparation for the eclipse, aircraft should be ready for potential airborne holding (circling in the air to delay landing), rerouting and FAA-indicated take-off times for all domestic arrivals and departures that abide by instrument flight rules, according to the agency.

Traffic management initiatives , including alternative routing, parking guidance strategies and the slowing down and speeding up of air traffic could be implemented during the total eclipse, according to the FAA.

"There may be a higher traffic volume than normal anticipated at airports along the path of the eclipse," the government agency said. "Traffic should anticipate delays during peak traffic periods."

Parking for aircraft could be limited, particularly at the smaller and uncontrolled airports, the FAA said. Departures could be a challenge for certain aircraft depending on their level of clearance, the agency said.

Remember the 2017 total solar eclipse? Here's why the 2024 event will be bigger and better.

Pilots could find some restrictions at airports on April 8, FAA says

Pilot training operations at airports will be "extremely limited" and "possibly prohibited" as the eclipse passes, according to the FAA.

Pilots are advised to "carefully" check the Notice to Airmen (NOTAMs), a notice to help prepare for changes in procedure and service and against hazards, the FAA said.

"Specific NOTAM procedures may be revised, and arrivals to some airports possibly restricted so please review NOTAMs frequently to verify you have the current information," according to the agency.

Special security provisions may be in effect during the eclipse, including temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), two-way radio communications and discrete transponder requirements , the FAA said.

TFRs are normally announced through NOTAM about three to five days before the event, the agency said.

Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

The 13 summer trips Americans are searching for the most, according to Google Flights

• Google Flights revealed the top searched destinations on its platform for summer 2024.
• The data is based on the most searched travel destinations from US users between June and August.
• Neither New York nor Paris took the top spot.

If you're looking to get away this summer, you may find inspiration from Google Flights' list of the top searched destinations for the summer of 2024.

The list is based on US users' most searched destinations on Google Flights for travel between June 1 and August 31.

The list remained largely consistent from 2023, but Chicago and San Francisco didn't make the top 20 this year. The insights also revealed that searches about travel itineraries and "solo travel" reached an all-time high in January 2024.

Here are the top 13 destinations.

13. Barcelona

There's a long list of tourist attractions in Barcelona including renowned museums featuring Picasso and Joan Miró, exploring the Gothic Quarter's architecture. Barcelona is also well known for its iconic nightlife.

Miami is known for its clear beaches and vibrant culture. It's also rated second in US News and World Report's "10 Best Party Cities " in the US.

The travel destination is also a popular site for families, and made the third spot in Google searches for top places to do things with kids, according to Google trend insights from for January 14 to March 14.

11. Los Angeles

Located in Southern California, LA is known for its beaches, Hollywood glamour, Mediterranean climate, and wellness culture. The city has a number of tourist sites, including the iconic Hollywood sign, Universal Studios, and the Getty Center.

If you plan to visit LA, make sure you factor in the cost of transportation — and the time you may spend in traffic .

Athens is rich in history and has a number of tourist attractions. BI has previously suggested visiting the Athens National Garden National Garden, the Acropolis, Panathenaic Stadium, Areopagus Hill, and Mount Lycabettus.

Seattle , often referred to as the Emerald City, is home to major companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Tableau. Surrounded by water, mountains, and forest, it's also known for classic attractions like the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and its grunge music scene.

8. Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known for its extravagant gambling scene and luxurious hotels . It was also ranked the number one city to party as of August 2023, according to US News and World Report.

It's not just a hot spot for bachelor parties though — according to Google travel insights from January 14 to March 14, it was the number one location people searched in the US for places to go as a couple.

Orlando was the first ranked location for searches that led with the prompt "things to do" with kids, according to Google travel insights from January 14 to March 14. The Florida destination is filled with family-friendly tourist attractions , like Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld.

Located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Cancún is a popular vacation destination known for its Caribbean waters, luxurious all-inclusive resorts , and vibrant nightlife. That, and it's often budget-friendly for the experience you're getting.

Cancún moved down from second to sixth place in Google Flights' 2024 destination list. The popular vacation spot was also listed in the top five locations for couples and families searching to get away, according to Google search insights from January 14 to March 14.

5. New York

New York City, also known as the Big Apple or the city that never sleeps, has a seemingly endless list of tourist attractions. It has iconic landmarks, like the Statue of Liberty; world-renowned museums; a vibrant theatre scene; eclectic nightlife; and some of the world's best restaurants.

New York has something for everyone — but it's expensive. Prepare to spend more on everyday items if you visit New York City.

Rome is filled with rich history and architecture that makes it an easy site for tourists to occupy themselves. Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Colosseum are a few of the most popular spots.

If you do visit Rome, make sure you avoid common tourist mistakes and tip the servers.

Tokyo rose from eighth place to third in the last year, according to Google Flights.

The city in Japan has a convenient public transportation system and is relatively affordable. It also includes culturally rich sites like Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo Tower, and Sensō-ji Temple .

Paris is known for its authentic culture, charming architecture, and buttery croissants.

If you visit Paris, you'll want to visit some of the famous tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Palace of Versailles. That, and you may want to brush up on your French too.

London maintained its spot as the number one searched tourist destination for summer travel. While living in London can be expensive and cloudy, the city is lively and vibrant during the summer.

Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and the thriving theatre scene are just a few of the activities this city has to offer.

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FAA Ready for Spring Break Peak Travel and ‘The Great North American Eclipse’

WASHINGTON — As families across the U.S. continue their spring break travel, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts next week will be the busiest of the season, with most fliers taking off on Thursday, April 4.

While most travelers are heading to their favorite vacation destinations, a significant number of travelers are heading to various states to witness ‘The Great North American Eclipse’ on Monday, April 8. Travelers flying along the eclipse path may encounter limited parking and potential delays at airports due to the high volume of aircraft and drones attempting to witness the total solar eclipse. 

Whether you are headed to the sun or headed to the solar eclipse, the FAA is working to make sure you get to your destinations safely. The FAA wants pilots to be aware of possible impacts to air traffic and airports along the eclipse path and is offering guidance to commercial planes and private aircraft ahead of their flights to witness the phenomenon.   

The FAA reminds spring break travelers to be patient, give themselves extra time at the airport, and pack safely.   

• Be Patient: Federal law prohibits interfering with aircraft crew or physically assaulting or threatening to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on an aircraft. Follow all crewmember instructions. Failing to do so can result in civil penalties, criminal fines and imprisonment. The FAA has zero tolerance for unruly behavior.  
• Pay close attention to what’s in your bag. Some common toiletries that passengers pack could be hazardous. Check your bags for aerosol cans that may contain hair spray, deodorant, tanning spray or animal repellant, nail polish, artist paints and glues.  
• E-cigarettes, vaping devices, and spare lithium batteries are not authorized to be packed in checked luggage. Spare lithium batteries – the kind that are found in personal electronic devices and back-up charging devices – can only travel in carry-on baggage.  
• Electronic devices powered by lithium batteries can catch fire if they are damaged or have exposed electrical terminals. The FAA recommends that passengers keep cell phones and other devices nearby in the cabin to quickly access them if necessary.   

For more information about unruly passengers, please visit our Unruly Passenger  page on the FAA website. 

For detailed information about materials that should not fly, check out our Pack Safe: When in Doubt, Leave it Out video , the FAA's PackSafe website , and the FAA’s Hazardous Materials Safety website .  

Despite a major increase in flights last year,  delays  and cancellations  remain lower than even pre-pandemic levels.  

While delays and cancellations are low, they do happen. Check the status of your flight and get important travel tips before heading to the airport on the FAA travel web page . 

The FAA Air Traffic Report , which outlines potential weather impacts, is updated daily. You can also follow the FAA weather squad on X .

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It was a cuddle jumper.

Another day another instance of frisky flyers getting intimate inflight . This time, a passenger was horrified after witnessing two amorous travelers canoodling each other for an entire airplane ride, as detailed in an X post with 21 million views .

“Can’t believe my view on the plane. It was like this the whole 4 hour flight,” wrote poster Flea in the caption to the photos of the sky-high spooning session, which occurred aboard an unspecified flight.

The accompanying photo compilation shows the unidentified flyers locked in a series of embraces while lying across a row of seats as if in a love motel at 30,000 feet.

One of the apparent mile-high hopefuls even has one of her feet propped against the tray table.

Needless to say, the X commentariat didn’t appreciate the lovebirds’ airplane PDA display.

“Like two big a– kids,” said one aghast commenter , while another scoffed , “This why I’m never flying economy. Ain’t no time to watch this BS.”

“I’m more mad that they’re barefoot,” commented a third in apparent reference to the myriad inflight “pedi crimes” of late.

One revolted viewer added , “How did the flight attendant not say anything???”

In general, experts frown upon the practice of going horizontal up high — even if the participants have their clothes on.

“Once you get to the point where you’re tonguing your partner down, you’ve crossed the line of good manners,” US etiquette expert Elaine Swann told travel blog The Points Guy .

If one does find themselves stuck next to a couple making out in the “backseat,” the victim should alert a flight attendant rather than try and handle the situation themselves.

“It’s best to let a person of authority handle an issue like this, rather than trying to handle it yourself,” seconded Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder and president of the Etiquette School of New York. “I would have the flight attendant ask the parties involved to maintain the proper decorum while they are on the airplane.”

Unfortunately, airplane PDA isn’t limited to some cuddling and necking at 30,000 feet.

Last month, beleaguered air hostess Suzanne Bucknam revealed she’s witnessed many flyers making whoopie in the friendly skies , claiming she’s even had to kick unabashed rompers off the plane.

“A kiss on the lips or handholding doesn’t warrant ick status but making out and putting a blanket over each other’s laps gets very uncomfortable for everyone in the vicinity,” described the aghast stewardess, who works for an undisclosed airline. “I’ve seen several couples attempt to join the mile high club either in the bathroom or, worse, at their seats with said blanket over them.”

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Google reveals top destinations for summer vacation 2024

Paris, Puerto Rico and more made the top 20!

For anyone feeling a sudden urge for summer wanderlust, Google unveiled its top 20 destinations that travelers have already taken an interest in for any upcoming warm weather getaways.

From domestic to international locations, Google shared insights based on past flight booking data and search trends with "Good Morning America" to help people start planning summer vacation spots or shape an ideal itinerary.

Much like snubs and surprises during awards season, there are a couple of places that fell out of favor since last year as well as some new additions that made this year's list.

Check out all the spots below.

Top summer 2024 destinations on Google flights

The search engine technology company said the list reflects people in the U.S. searching on Google Flights for travel anytime between June 1 through August 31, 2024.

Cancun, which previously came in at number one during summer, dropped to number six, while Tokyo is on the rise, with Madrid and San Juan new to the summer location lineup.

1. London 2. Paris 3. Tokyo 4. Rome 5. New York 6. Cancun 7. Orlando 8. Las Vegas 9. Seattle 10. Athens 11. Los Angeles 12. Miami 13. Barcelona 14. Dublin 15. Fort Lauderdale 16. Honolulu 17. Denver 18. Madrid 19. Boston 20. San Juan

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The biggest change from 2023, according to Google, is that Cancun moved down from the number two spot to number six, while Tokyo rose from number eight to number three.

Newcomers to the top destinations list include San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Madrid, Spain. Chicago and San Francisco didn't make the top 20 this year.

Travel trends on Google search

Google gathers insights from mid-January to mid-March from U.S. users to find out what travel-related queries are top of mind ahead of summer.

Searches for "travel itinerary" and "solo travel" reached an all-time high in January.

Two of the top trending "weekend getaway" destinations are Palm Springs and Florida Keys.

The top trending "romantic getaway" destinations were Napa, the famed California wine country, and Key West, home to the southernmost point in the Continental U.S. with historic landmarks.

Finally, La Romana and Saint John were the top trending destinations searched with all-inclusive resorts.

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