**Debunking Common Myths About Finding Cheap Flights on Google Flights**
Google Flights is one of the most popular flight aggregators on the web. The site lets users search millions of flights to find the best routes and prices that meet their needs. Unsurprisingly, millions of people use Google Flights to find the best deals on holiday tickets.
The search for cheap flights has also led to many nuggets of so-called conventional wisdom that, if followed, will supposedly help you find the cheapest fares. But with the holidays rapidly approaching and finding the best deals on flights at the top of mind for millions of Americans, I wanted to find out if these pieces of conventional wisdom were actually true—particularly when it comes to Google Flights.
So, I went straight to the source and asked James Byers, group product manager at Google Search, who leads the Google Flights team and the development of the company’s other travel products in search.
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### Claim #1: Clearing Cookies or Using Incognito Mode Will Help You Find Cheaper Fares
The idea behind this claim is that airlines and flight aggregators use cookies on your computer to track how many times you’ve visited a site searching for tickets. Frequent returns by the same user to a site suggest they may be preparing to buy tickets, so airlines or site operators raise prices.
To get around this supposed tactic, conventional wisdom says to clear your browser’s cookies or use incognito mode when shopping for tickets.
But Byers says that, when it comes to Google Flights, this is a myth.
> “Whether you have cookies set or incognito, it doesn’t make any difference on Google Flights. You see the same results as anyone else,” says Byers.
He also understands why people believe this myth. Due to the networked nature of the flight ecosystem — with trillions (yes, with a “T”) of possible flight combinations — a price change in just one flight, say departing from Paris, can result in price changes in seemingly unrelated flights.
These price changes can happen “stunningly rapidly,” Byers notes — sometimes within seconds. This rapid fluctuation can make people believe the price changes they see are deliberately targeted at them, when in reality, they are part of the normal dynamics of flight pricing.
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### Claim #2: Using a VPN Will Help You Find Cheaper Fares
Another bit of conventional wisdom is that, depending on your actual location, you should use a VPN when shopping for flights. Airlines sometimes offer the same flight at different prices depending on where in the world you are located.
For example, if you are in a country with a relatively high GDP, a flight may be listed at $1,000, while those in countries with lower GDPs may see cheaper fares for the same flight. The reasoning is that airlines expect people in wealthier countries to pay more than those in developing countries.
Byers says this isn’t exactly a myth—but a VPN may do little good in practice.
He explains that airlines do tend to offer different prices based on the country you’re purchasing from, so setting your VPN to show you’re in a different country may help you initially see lower fares. However, this tactic often fails because:
> “Usually, when you go to book that flight, you also need a billing address and a payment instrument, credit card, or some other means of payment in that country.”
If you don’t use a payment method native to that country, you’re unlikely to get the local fare. In the end, Byers calls the VPN hack “not a strategy we recommend.”
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### Claim #3: Book Your Flight Tickets on a Tuesday to Get the Cheapest Fares
This is probably the oldest piece of conventional wisdom. The idea is that airlines generally have the lowest fares on Tuesdays, so if you buy tickets on that day of the week, they will be cheaper than if you buy them on other days.
Surprisingly, Byers says Google’s data does back this up—but with a catch.
> “Tuesdays are a little bit cheaper,” Byers says, “but it’s 1.3% [less] compared to Sunday, which is the most expensive day.”
What this means is that if you find the perfect flight on a Sunday, you can wait until Tuesday to see if the price drops—but even if it does, expect to save only around 1.3%, which translates to less than seven dollars on a $500 ticket.
Furthermore, if you wait until Tuesday for that possible discount, the ticket you want could be gone by then.
> “The difference is so small that we recommend that once you see a price [you like], you should [grab] it regardless of what day you happen to book on,” advises Byers.
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### When Can You Actually Find the Best Prices on Holiday Flights? Insights from Google Flights
I asked Byers if he had any tips for finding cheap holiday fares based on Google Flights’ rich trove of data. Surprisingly, he told me that despite the holidays being just two months away, now is a good time to buy your tickets.
> “We’ve got about 40 days until Thanksgiving,” Byers noted during our interview on October 17. “I think we have about something like 70 days until Christmas. Believe it or not, we’re just about at the point where prices historically are the lowest.”
Byers says that for Thanksgiving, the sweet spot for finding the lowest fares is about 35 days before the holiday, which this year places the prime buying date at October 24. However, there’s some flexibility within this window, ranging “between about 24 to 59 days” before Thanksgiving.
> “Once you get past that window, prices can go up quickly,” he warns.
For Christmas and the end-of-year holidays, Byers says the ideal time to buy tickets is about 50 days before, based on their data.
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### Additional Tips for Finding Great Flight Prices Year-Round
Google’s head of flights shared two more valuable suggestions for snagging good flight deals throughout the year:
1. **Set Google Flight Price Alerts**
> “When we tell you it’s a great price,” Byers says, “grab it. We have some pretty great data and AI behind that to give you confidence that it’s time to book.”
2. **Be Flexible**
Having flexibility with your travel dates, times, and destinations can greatly increase your chances of finding a better deal.
> “Flexibility is always the name of the game, if you have it.”
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**Bottom Line:** While some tips and tricks about finding cheap flights may hold a kernel of truth, many popular beliefs—like clearing cookies or using VPNs—don’t make much difference on Google Flights. Instead, use data-backed insights, set price alerts, stay flexible, and time your purchase according to holiday-specific windows to get the best deals on your next trip.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91425270/the-truth-about-finding-cheap-airfare-from-the-head-of-google-flights?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss