One of the most consistent complaints I hear from people that are starting the travel process is how frustrating buying flights can be. What is the best way to track flights? Flight tracking apps are one valuable tool.
Prices fluctuate, seats get taken from under your nose while you have an airline’s website open, and in the back of everyone’s mind is the sickening feeling of having to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars just to GET to where you’re going (not even to enjoy it yet!).
Luckily, there is a bounty of online businesses popping up that try to help with what many consider the most stressful part of travel planning. Below is part two of three common digital formats for tracking (not buying, necessarily) airline tickets. In addition, I’ve added my assessment of the various pros and cons, as well a couple my favorite flight tracking app to use.
FLIGHT-TRACKING APPS
The major challenge with purchasing flights is to know when you’re getting the lowest price possible for that itinerary. Airline prices fluctuate wildly based on many things including seasonality, holidays, length of time until departure and others. A great way to increase your chances of getting a good deal is to use an app or website that will consistently monitor the a flight’s price, then inform you when the service think the price is low enough to be worth of acting on.
Pros
- Hands off; input your search criteria once then let the service do the work
- It’s free!
- Can usually book directly via the service
Cons
- You provide your email address for several, so might get promotional marketing if you sign up for price alerts
- Most trackers make you select specific times and locations, although some are updating with more search flexibility now
Many apps and websites offer this type of service, most notably Google Flights and Kayak.
The Meticulous Traveler’s Fave
Hopper is a great free app for tracking flights over the long term. You search for your flight criteria like any other search app, and the chubby cartoon rabbit will track the flight consistently and inform you via push notification when the price is low enough that the system thinks it is time to buy. They are now exploring the ability to do flexible dates, so the service should only improve.
While you’re selecting your dates, Hopper color codes both departure and return dates that minimize cost. The cooler the color (e.g. green) the cheaper the flight would be if you select that date. Avoid the red dates if possible!
A couple things to keep in mind… like most flight search apps, there are airlines that don’t share their data. Southwest is the obvious one, but EasyJet, Ryanair and Delta (this one is especially a bummer with MSP as my hub) are not available through Hopper. Additionally, Hopper is only offered as a mobile app; it is not available for use on a desktop. Many may not care about that format, but I figured I’d share the info. Lastly, Hopper does charge a small fee if you buy the flights through their app. For example, I purchased flights for my wife and me from Chicago to Boston and Hopper charged me $10.
Please comment below on which flight tracking apps you like best for getting the best deal. I’d love to hear from you!
Also, see the other posts in the flight tracking series:
My Favorite Ways to Track Flights Part 1: Flight Aggregators
My Favorite Ways to Track Flights Part 2: Tracking Apps
My Favorite Ways to Track Flights Part 3: Flight Communities
