Flight matrix is a free tool that can be used by frequent flyers to find hard-to-find travel combinations. It also allows you to use advanced routing language, such as separating destinations by commas or entering a minimum layover time.
It can be a bit clunky and confusing, but once you understand how to use it, it’s a powerful tool. It can even allow you to search for a trip with an extended stopover.
ITA Matrix is a powerful tool
ITA Matrix is a powerful tool that helps travelers save time and money by finding cheap flights. It can also help travelers get more miles and points for future travel. It can be a little confusing to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to book some amazing trips.
Unlike Google Flights, Matrix can be customized to search for itineraries that aren’t available on mainstream search engines. It also has a number of extension codes that allow you to manipulate itinerary searches and fare results. This makes it easy to find a specific aircraft or find flights that meet your loyalty tier requirements.
One downside to ITA Matrix is that it doesn’t show a price for booking the flight on the airline’s site. However, it does allow you to book a round-trip ticket for a single class of service. This allows you to find cheaper one-way fares in business or first class.
It’s not as easy to use as Google Flights
Google Flights uses the same technology as ITA Matrix, but is much easier to use. In addition to a simple interface, Google offers many tips and tricks to save you money on your airfare.
It also displays fares from different airlines in the same alliance. It allows you to select specific airports, airlines and even flight numbers. It can also be configured to search for one-stop flights and to limit connections to certain lengths.
The most important feature of ITA Matrix is its advanced search options. You can use a variety of codes to search for your ideal trip, such as using two-letter airline code prefixes for marketing carriers and three-letter airport codes followed by numbers for destination cities. You can also enter advanced controls to specify airline alliances, route lengths and even layover durations. For more information, see this detailed guide from UpgradedPoints.
It’s not as convenient as BookWithMatrix
ITA Matrix is one of the oldest flight search engines. It was developed in the 1990s by MIT computer scientists and is used by airlines and other online travel agents. It is not as user-friendly as other flight search tools, but it can be a powerful tool when it comes to finding low airfares.
It can be difficult to book a flight itinerary using ITA Matrix, because it does not provide a direct booking option. It is possible to use sites like Hipmunk and other third-party booking services to re-create ITA Matrix itineraries, but this can be time consuming and may not offer all the options of a full ITA Matrix search.
The easiest way to do this is to select all the flights in the ITA Matrix itinerary and copy them by using your browser’s Edit menu or Control-A or Command-C on your keyboard. Then, you can paste the resulting list into the text box on BookWithMatrix.
It’s not as flexible as Kayak
If you’re a hardcore travel deal hunter, the ITA Matrix software is the granddaddy of flight search tools. This powerful tool can unearth flight pricing and routings that you’d miss using Kayak or Google Flights.
ITA Matrix also has a nice feature for shopping flight itineraries using color-coded time bars. You can hover your mouse over a bar to see the length of the layover, making it easier to find flights with convenient connections.
However, ITA Matrix does not show you all options for each leg of your itinerary. In some cases, the cheapest flights might include an extra stop or may be on a different airline. It’s important to know these differences so you can book the best possible flight for your needs. This is especially important when you’re redeeming miles for flights. For example, if you’re traveling to Iceland, make sure that your itinerary includes enough time to drive the Golden Circle and enjoy Reykjavik.