Flight delays are always inconvenient for frequent flight-goers, be it business travel or heading out for a vacation. In the peak of Winter this year, when people go for tropical getaways from the chilly spaces of their homes, flight delays only add to their discomfort.
However, the Google Flights update brings in good news for all the flight-goers as it will now use AI to give people a heads-up, helping people predict those irksome flight delays, and also provides a new feature that will allow them to find the cheapest fare available irrespective of the flight destination.
Globetrotters strictly resorting to traveling on a budget can avail of new fare types like “Basic Economy”, but whether the important benefits like the ability to select one’s seat, baggage fees, and overhead bin space are included in the fare or not, is not clarified until now. But, Google Flights resolves this ambiguity by citing information regarding the options for flights on America, Delta, and United. Booking a basic Economy flight ticket would let people know that these benefits won’t be included.
One of the most trying parts of flight travel is the long time interval between reaching the airport and waiting for the call to board the flight. To date, flights showed their arrival status in terms of whether they were on time or delayed, but now thanks to Google Flights, we will be informed about the reasons for flight delays.
Furthermore, the forward-looking new feature of delay predictions allows people to cancel the current flight and book other flights, and tweak their flight plan accordingly as per their convenience. Google Flights’ historical flight status data is used by its machine learning algorithms to predict some flight delays accurately even when the information isn’t officially confirmed from the airlines yet, with delays being flagged only when the algorithms deduce at least 80% probability of the anticipated flight delay.
All the same, it is recommended that the flight-goers reach the airport on time, although this feature of advanced information can manage expectations and reduce the surprise quotient of unanticipated flight delays. One has to simply search for one’s flight number (“American 4442”) or the airline and flight route (“Air New Zealand Auckland to Singapore”), and the search results would flash up these details.
Uncertainties regarding flying sky high will now be tackled head-on, as Google Flights is all set to roll out more new features from today, easing out and enhancing the experience of flight travel for its user base. Indeed, as its tagline goes, the new feature of Google Flights ensures that we can “Book Flights with confidence”, and enjoy that dream holiday exactly as scheduled.
