There are different ways of finding the ideal flight: some people hire a travel agency to do it, others choose the smarter way and regularly visit Travel-Dealz. And then there is the do-it-yourself group. Those of us who prefer to find our flights without outside help. Of course, if you want to do it right, you have to rely on the support of various tools. And we would like to introduce some of these digital helpers to you in this post.
Depending on the point you are at in your planning, different services are suitable for achieving your goal. So we’ll start at the very beginning by looking at which destinations are served by the airport near you and how you can save some time when searching using IATA codes. Then it continues with tools that help you find flights or to plan the entire trip.
Table of Contents
Find IATA Codes
So-called IATA codes are 2 or 3-character strings issued by the International Air Transport Association (from which IATA is derived), by means of which airports and airlines can be precisely identified. As a result, these codes are also an important tool when searching for flights. Most of the websites that you can use for further planning also work with these codes.
A great site that enables you to find the right IATA code for an airport (or vice versa) is IATAcodes.de. A very simple search form enables you to quickly find the desired result.
On the site, you just type in the name of the city that you would like to fly from in the window. As a result, you will see the IATA codes of all airports that match the name of the city. The whole thing also works the other way round if you only know the IATA code.
So now you can search for any airport you want like a real pro. But what connections are offered by the nearby airport?
What Destinations Can I Get to from a Specific Airport?
It can also be very interesting to see where you can travel to. Of course, you will probably get to almost every airport that is served commercially by means of a transfer connection. But sometimes you just want to get there non-stop. Or, for example, you’ve found a cheap ticket from Dublin and first want to see how you can get there in the first place.
Fortunately, there are also tools here that you can use for this. In our experience, FlightConnections.com works particularly well, even if a recent pop-up is intended to urge you to subscribe to the Pro version. The data is also usually very up-to-date.
Below you will find an example showing all flights from the new Berlin airport
As soon as you have selected a route, you will also be shown which airlines operate this route and on which days they fly. In cooperation with Kayak, you can also directly book the flights.
You can find many more ways to get an overview of the route network in this post:
Google Flights – the All-Rounder
Probably only very few of our readers have never heard of Google Flights. It is not a coincidence that we have a link to Google Flights in every flight deal. The tool from the Mountain View technology group in California has become indispensable when searching for flights, and private individuals in particular benefit enormously from it. With a few clicks, you can find the best offers and in most cases, you will also be forwarded to the respective provider if you want to book.
In addition to the search for specific flights, Google Flights also offers other functions. For example, you can also get inspired by simply entering the departure airport and then having prices for flights to a variety of destinations displayed on a world map. It is also possible to set up a price alert for certain routes.
For those who would like to take a closer look at Google Flights and the associated possibilities, we have a detailed article that may have a tip or two in store even for experienced frequent flyers:
The ITA Matrix – for Those who Love Details
The ITA Airfare Search – also called The Matrix – is also part of the Google Group and, in terms of functionality, overlaps with Google Flights. Nevertheless, both tools have their very own area of application. While the latter is intended for the quick and easy search for connections and the subsequent booking, the matrix offers significantly more options.
The ITA Airfare Search also lets you search for flight connections. However, without the option of being forwarded immediately to the respective provider of the ticket. That sounds like a disadvantage at first. However, this is easily compensated for by other functions of the tool.
You want to find out the exact rules for a specific ticket? Or only see flights that are to be carried out with a certain type of aircraft? Are you looking for tickets in a certain booking class with a transfer time of at least 4 hours? No problem! The matrix seeks and finds your flight.
You immediately notice how complex this type of travel planning can be, and that’s why we have written detailed instructions for those who are interested. One for beginners and one for the advanced among you. Have fun reading!
Incidentally, a new version of the matrix was recently released as a beta. It still has a few small quirks – but it’s nice to see that the tool is being further developed (thanks to some Google employees).
Go2 (by Travel-Dealz) – Search for (Award) Flights with One Click
You’ve also been bothered by the fact that one search form is worse to use than the other for airlines and frequent flyer programs? Even the attempt (as described above) to search for flights with IATA codes, unfortunately, brings many websites to their limits. That is why we have created our own search form at Travel-Dealz, which can redirect you to more than 60 airlines & frequent flyer programs: Go2.travel-dealz.com.
Depending on what you intend to do, you don’t even have to enter anything yourself. A bookmark in the browser takes you from Google Flights to Go2 and then to e.g. Miles&More with just one click. You can find out how it all works (including a video of how it works) here.
A few use cases that Go2 can be useful for:
- You found a connection on Google Flights and want to know what it costs as a United MileagePlus award flight
- You found a cheap Ryanair flight on Kayak, but you would rather book it directly on Ryanair’s website instead of on dubious OTAs. With two clicks, you get to the search on Ryanair.com
- You don’t want to use Lufthansa’s faulty booking form? Then just use Go2 and let yourself be redirected to the search results on Lufthansa.com
- You would like to support Travel-Dealz in their daily flight search with a few cents commission
You can read more about Go2 in the following article:
Kiwi.com Nomad – for the Explorers
Kiwi.com is actually a normal online travel agency, like many others. Basically, the reviews of Kiwi.com are very mixed, and we usually recommend booking directly with the airline for a reason.
However, the Czech company Kiwi has a very special feature: the Nomad service. You can put together a flight tour very easily (with just a few clicks). All you have to do is enter a place of departure, a date or time period when you want to start and the destinations you want to travel to.
As a result, Nomad will then look for the best connections for your trip, which you can then book right away. However, Kiwi.com charges additional fees for everything. It may therefore be a better choice to copy and book the flights found directly with the respective airlines.
The settings are very flexible. You can determine how long you want to stay in one place by giving either exact dates or a period of time. Nomad also usually suggests different routes to choose from.
If we have sparked your interest, and you would like to find out more about the functions, advantages, and disadvantages of Nomad, we have also written an even more detailed article for you here:
Conclusion
For some, the planning is a necessary evil, while for others it is almost as beautiful as the trip itself. Whichever group you belong to, the tools we have presented here will definitely make it a lot easier. Of course, all recommendations that we present here are also free of charge. So it can’t hurt to look at the different options.
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