At first glance, Fly.comlooks like any other meta-search engine like Kayak or Farecompare. But now Fly.com may be emerging as the leader of the pack, with the introduction of a new search feature that compares fares on other dates.
In his blog, Hudson Crossing, Tom Botts tells us that Fly.com allows users to “easily explore how changing [or] adjusting their travel dates can save them money.”
For example, travelers can say that they want to go to Los Angeles for four days sometime over the next four months and Fly.com will show the user a multitude of travel dates with associated fares. Additionally, travelers “can even declare a fixed outbound or return day – perfect for those trips when you know exactly when you have to leave or return but are somewhat flexible on one end of the trip or the other.”
I tried this feature myself and it does a very good job. As a test, I tried a trip from LAX to JFK, leaving on May 29 and returning on June 14. The fare it came up with was $299.
I clicked on the Calendar tab and it showed me several different options throughout the next four months. As an example, if my dates are flexible, I could get a fare of $219 if I were to leave on May 30 and return on June 9.
I could also tell the engine that my departure date is fixed, my return date is fixed, or my trip duration is fixed. If I were set on leaving May 29th I could get a fare or $259 if I were to return June 13 (among other dates).
If I were set on returning on June 14 (the date I originally specified), I could get the same $259 if I were to leave on May 30 (among other dates).
I could also tell it that my travel duration is fixed, although the engine does have a limitation of 10 days. So in my case, since I would be travelling for 14 days, I could not use the fix duration option.
The site is still in “beta” — meaning it’s not quite ready for prime time — so they will probably make that correction in the near future if possible. Overall, this is a good fare comparison site and one that I will want to check out often.
