Is there an easy way to compare which airfare search engines cover which airlines?
I've been using Google Flights to look for flights, but occasionally prices of flights from some airlines (Emirates and Southwest, for example) don't display.
Is there an easy way to see if other, competing airfare search engines would display prices for those airlines?
I'm looking for something like a table showing main airfare search engines and the airlines they cover, so that I can compare the search websites easily.
Best Answer
I see two questions here:
- Is there an easy way to compare which airfare search engines cover which airlines?
I'm not aware of any. Some sites publish a list of the airlines they cover, e.g. Kayak has a ranking here and Azair has a list of them on their landing page, but others don't seem to publish this information. I remember having seen something like 400+ airlines for expedia and 900+ for Google Flights but I can't even find those numbers again.
- Is there an easy way to see if other, competing airfare search engines would display prices for those airlines?
You have to check those competing airfare search engines. Note that Southwest does not allow aggregators to show their flights in their results but I would be surprised if that were the case for Emirates. Some seach engines, notably ITA Matrix, do not display flights of low-cost carriers. This summary answer of mine might be of tangential use to you. Here I found an older (and likely out-of-date) post about airlines that are typically not in flight search engines.
Your best strategy is to compare two or three search engines and take the best offer. There are quite complex algorithms behind flight searches and results can diverge or miss the optimum if you rely on only one engine.
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What search engine is best for flights?
What is the easiest way to compare prices of different flights?
Use a major online travel booking site, such as Travelocity.com or Expedia.com, to compare airline fares against one another. You will quickly be able to see which airline offers the best price for your route. You will also see how many connections are listed on each flight that you are quoted.Does Skyscanner show all airlines?
First things first: Skyscanner does not cover all airlines and all flights in the world! Even the famous Google Flights does not do this.How do I find the best airfare deals?
How to Book the Cheapest Flight Possible to AnywhereHOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS - My Best Tips After Booking 500+ Flights
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Answer 2
In my experience the very best flight search engine is the ITA Matrix. I believe it is so comprehensive that it negates the need for a 3rd party website to list which websites return which airlines. Note that you cannot book flights on this site.
I am yet to find a scenario where this search engine wouldn't return a flight option (aside from airlines that specifically chose to exclude their fares such as Southwest Airlines).
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