Google Flight Search Officially Launched in India

Google has officially launched its Flight Search service in India on Tuesday. With the service (which has been available for a while before the official launch) users can search and compare flight tickets, and book them via Google's partners. The search giant first launched the service globally back in 2011.

The Google Flight Search is accessible directly from Google Search or via google.co.in/flights. Users will be able to compare and book flights from mobile, tablet or desktop devices. When users visit the Flight Search page, they will be shown the price and duration of flights to several popular destinations they might like to visit, selected basis user preference and search history. Users will be able to search and book flights in round trip, one way, and multi-city itineraries.

Once users enter a destination, and click on the departure date (or return date in case of round trup), they will be shown a calendar with the lowest fares to the destination each day. Below the calendar, a graph is visible that shows the fares across months - helping users plan their journeys better.

Upon selecting a departure date (and return date in case a round trip search is selected), users will be shown the various flight routes and prices on that day, starting with outbound. The routes are the 'Best flights', representing the "best tradeoff between convenience and price." Users can view other flights by selecting "Show longer or more expensive flights."

Once both outbound and inbound flights are selected, users will be presented the option of buying the flight tickets by Google Flight Search (which will lead users to the partner website for payment), save the itinerary, or share the itinerary.

"Giving our guests access to our flights for bookings through Flight Search will offer another convenient channel to shop for and book flights via their preferred search engine. This is just one more way we're collaborating with Google on new and innovative technologies," said Gaurang Shetty, Senior Vice President Commercial, Jet Airways in a press statement.

"Goibibo.com is the first OTA in India to partner with Google for Flight Search. This is in line with our philosophy and core differentiation of delivering the fastest booking experience to our travellers," added Ashish Kashyap, Founder and CEO of ibiboGroup.

Google last year in June, gave its Explore Flights section a major overhaul to it, making it more interactive and bringing a host of new features.