So last Tuesday, I was itching to plan this trip to see my sister in Portland, right? And like always, I hate paying more than I absolutely have to for flights. Felt like I needed to finally figure out which site actually shows me all the options without playing hide-and-seek with prices.
The Initial Hunt
I grabbed my laptop and a cold coffee – this was gonna take some digging. First stop: Google Flights. Everyone raves about it. Fired it up, punched in my dates and airports. Looked clean, showed prices quick, and that calendar view for cheap dates? Pretty sweet, no lie. Felt pumped. But… I remembered sometimes budget airlines don’t show up there perfectly. Suspicious. Needed more ammo.
Okay, round two. Opened Skyscanner. That “Everywhere” search thing? Yeah, still kinda cool for brainstorming trips. Plugged in my details and boom – got a whole pile of airlines. Prices seemed kinda low, super tempting. Clicked on a cheap one… and got tossed straight to some airline’s own janky booking site. Felt messy, like a wild goose chase. Plus, waiting for prices to actually load on the new page? Took forever. Not thrilled.
Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole
Alright, feeling a bit annoyed now. Needed a heavy hitter. Pulled up Kayak. They throw everything at you: flights, hotels, cars – the whole kitchen sink. Did a flight search. Okay, lots of airlines showed up, which is good. They even have this “Hacker Fares” thing (mixing airlines), which might save cash. But man, the page was so. much. stuff. Prices flashing, ads popping, filters galore… felt like information overload. Hard to just see the dang flights clearly.
Feeling worn out, but soldiered on. Heard mixed things about Momondo, so gave it a shot. Looked kinda quirky visually. Searched the same route. Whoa! Prices looked crazy cheap, cheaper than the others. Seriously thought I hit the jackpot. Heart started racing… clicked through to book… and then. Bam. Extra fees started showing up like uninvited guests. Seat selection, baggage fee, some weird booking fee – suddenly the “cheap” flight wasn’t so cheap anymore. Felt seriously let down.
The Reality Check
Took a deep breath. My coffee was warm sludge at this point. Leaned back. Here’s the messy truth I figured out:
- Google Flights is lightning fast and shows big airlines easy, but budget guys? Might miss some or show wonky prices.
- Skyscanner finds loads of airlines and killer deals… eventually. But you gotta bounce around sites like crazy. Patience required.
- Kayak dumps EVERYTHING on you. Airlines, prices, extras. It’s powerful, but feels chaotic and overwhelming.
- Momondo bait-and-switch is real. Those initial prices are basically fake news once fees hit.
Sighed and stared at the screen. None of these did it perfectly. No single site actually showed me the complete, real price from every airline hassle-free. Not one.
So what worked? Grunt work. I ended up using Google Flights for the speed and calendar, then cross-checking the promising budget lines on Skyscanner AND digging into the airline’s own sites directly to see the final, true cost with bags and seats included. It was tedious. Way more clicks than I wanted.
Bottom line? Finding the cheapest flight legit means mixing and matching these tools. There’s no magic button… yet. Just gotta be prepared for a little detective work and a few hidden fee sucker punches along the way.
