Google Flights? Not Ready For Prime Time. - Forbes
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The anticipated Google flight search engine launched with much fanfare the other day, and I am already sick of it.
I'll preface this by staying I am in no way anti-Google and use their excellent search engine all the time.
I book a lot of flights and a lot of travel online, and I have used all the major airline websites, as well as Travelocity, Orbitz and my current favorite Kayak, which has the best filters for narrowing the search, as well as displaying the most hidden connection options.
Google Flights looked easy, so I gave it a try. Here's what happened:
1. For some unknown reason, it tries to force me to use Albany, NY as my departure airport for every search even though I do not live near Albany and have never flown in or out of the airport.
While I understand the logic behind trying to pre-load a home airport and save a step, it is not a step worth saving. I mean really, can a person smart enough to buy a plane ticket online not be expected to be capable of entering three letters? And like me, lots of people – anyone in Chicago, LA, NYC, for example – usually searches multiple departure airports anyway, so picking one is no help. Especially if it is not one you would ever use.
2. When I select "other airports", it gives me a list of airports near Albany. Still no help.
3. Even when I delete Albany and enter a new airport, it insists on adding Albany back into the search and gives me results from there anyway.
4. When I finally got my desired search entered, Santa Barbara to Boston, it told me there were no flights available – event though I already hold a ticket on just such a flight.
5. Additionally, there is no obvious way – or any way I can find – to search for a one way flight.
Best of all, when I tried to submit a comment to Google for feedback that might help them, I was directed to log into a Google Mail account. Apparently you cannot comment on how poorly the interface works if you do not use Google Mail. So I have another idea. I am commenting right now, through this forum.
16 Sep, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF3s4LAeloWGZLEl_D1Wdd4Lfhm2w&url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2011/09/15/google-flights-not-ready-for-prime-time/
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