Google is quietly trying out some new functionality around flight searches, using the UK as a test bed to display journey duration and available airlines.
Not available to all users as yet, some route queries are returning flight information not normally seen ahead of organic search results.
In the example above (“flights to barcelona”) the user sees a list of airlines and flight times to Barcelona from a number of UK airports.
Perhaps the really interesting bit is what happens when the user selects the “show all non-stop routes to Barcelona” tab:
Now the results also include flight times and available airlines from destinations all around Europe, as well as an airline serving the route.
As this is a test available only to some users (unable to replicate here at this stage) it is difficult to see what happens when a user either clicks on the name of the airline or the origin airport.
Google has yet to respond to calls about the experiment, but in the past when various bits of testing have been found on live sites it usually declines to comment specifically and simply says it regularly tries out new tools and features within search.
With the acquisition of ITA Software in the bag, such comments are perhaps now somewhat understated.
Picking the UK for the test is slightly unusual for Google, more often than not selecting either the US or Canada when it is trying out new functionality.
Nevertheless, UK users are invariably pretty quick to see new tools and services after their US counterparts, mostly notably in December 2010 when hotel prices on Google Maps were added (and partners selected) after being trialled in the US.
NB: Hat-tip – SEOGadget.
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When is kayak going public?
Joneal: Kayak isn’t allowed to disclose that until it discloses it and it hasn’t. So we’ll have to watch and wait. I’d guess it would be sooner rather than later:)
“Picking the UK for the test is slightly unusual for Google,”
Although as you guys pointed out in an earlier post they’re testing out a fuel cost calculator in Google Maps in Europe
http://www.tnooz.com/2011/02/21/news/fuel-calculator-added-to-google-maps-in-the-uk/
@jim – thus why we used the world “slightly”
It may have been broader. So far we have confirmed reports from DE and IN as well as USA. I think we just got lucky that we say it first in the UK. It has apparently been out there for a while in its “hidden” form.
Note that to invoke it according to one of our tipsters – you have to make sure that you have a clean browser without any cookies.
The only way I could get it to work was to use Opera or IE8. I normally use Firefox and Chrome.
Cheers
Timothy
Guys, it is not surprising to me at all why these tests are happening outside of the USA. Pls note, that these new functionlities, what they do is effectively take the shopping experience towards Google and away from the OTA (both meta serch companies, like Kayak, and to a lesser extent, legacy OTAs). Also, what this will do is raise conversion rates for airlines and reduce the amount of qualified leads for OTAs (raising the cost of SEM for them). This is intented at getting airlines to spend more on SEM. Google is testing the ground and collecting feed back – most importantly from OTAs to see if they will rebel agaist such a discrimintation (OTAs remain Google largest advertiser in travel). Of course, Google will not do such test in the US, where the ITA deal has only just been approved and where such test could provoke a lot of controversy. All OTAs should now be calling their account managers at Google voicing their concern, which I encourage people to do.