Updated September 2022
When it comes to using an online flight aggregator, Skyscanner has been my top pick since I discovered it four years ago. Some days I use it to daydream and search ‘Wellington to anywhere’ as an extreme alternative to my bus to work.
To see what the advantages of other flight aggregator websites might be, I tested eight to compare experiences and see where the best deals were to be found when searching for a one way flight from any airport in New York to any airport in London on a particular date, without checking in luggage and booking two months in advance.
To aid comparison in determining the best flight aggregator I awarded a ranking system (1= poor, 2 = adequate, 3= great) and judged each flight on four criteria. Scroll to the bottom if you want to skip the details and just see the price summary table.
skyscanner.com
Cheapest flight found (on Kiwi.com):
$179NZD
Norse
Direct
JFK to London Gatwick
Total time 7 hours, 20 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 3
Quality of cheapest flight found = 3
Range of filters available = 2
Quantity of airlines found = 3
Overall score 11/12
In this case was sent to Kiwi.com to confirm fare was still available (fortunately it was) and book. I like that it Skyscanner unbiased and free though, as well as very mobile friendly.
Skyscanner offers over 30 languages and 70 currencies and while it hasn’t found the cheapest or best flight path in this instance, however I know from past experience it picks up the budget carriers others may miss.
Kiwi.com
Cheapest flight found:
$179NZD
Norse
Direct
JFK to London Gatwick
Total time 7 hours, 20 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 3
Quality of cheapest flight found = 3
Range of filters available = 2
Quantity of airlines found = 2
Overall score 10/12
Unsurprisingly the cheapest flight Kiwi.com found was the same flight through Kiwi.com found on Skypicker.
Kiwi.com highlights flights they call “Travel Hacks” where self-transfer allows you to connect multiple stops, for example stopping over in Oslo where you couldr ealistically have enough time to see the highlights of the city for a little extra.
Kiwi.com (Formerly Skypicker) is registered in the Czech Republic and claims to be changing the online air travel industry by allowing travellers to find and book the cheapest flights which other search engines can’t.
When we booked flights on airlines I hadn’t heard of in Asia via Skypicker last year I was concerned about the legitimacy of the site but all turned out ok. I also had to email them to update my passport details when I got a new one shortly prior to departure and found them prompt to reply and friendly and helpful to deal with.
Kayak.com
Cheapest flight found (found on Kiwi.com):
$238.01NZD
Norse
Direct
JFK to London Gatwick
Total time 7 hours, 20 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 2
Quality of cheapest flight found = 3
Range of filters available = 3
Quantity of airlines found = 3
Overall score 11
So Kayak found the same Norse flight through Kiwi.com however it was more expensive than booking through the other sites – perhaps their commission is higher. Kayak allows you to search for flights, cars, hotels and trips in numerous languages and after your initial search there are some great ways to refine the results (eg. by aircraft form or by flights with wifi!) and while it might seem helpful that it can search other search aggregators I HATE that they each open in a new window (including on a mobile device) and it doesn’t actually give you a comparison – you have to flick between screens to find the best option.
Quite annoyingly you can’t deselect all airlines at once if you’re looking for the price of a specific one and I had to untick 32 boxes to find the price of one particular (direct) flight I wanted to compare against.
/12
Kayak allows you to search for flights, cars, hotels and trips in 18 languages and after your initial search there are some great ways to refine the results (eg. by aircraft form or by flights with wifi!) and while it might seem helpful that it can search other search aggregators I HATE that they each open in a new window (including on a mobile device) and it doesn’t actually give you a comparison – you have to flick between screens to find the best option.
Quite annoyingly you can’t deselect all airlines at once if you’re looking for the price of a specific one and I had to untick 32 boxes to find the price of one particular (direct) flight I wanted to compare against.
Cheapest flight found:
$489NZD
TAP Portugal
Via Lisbon (1hr 25 mins)
Total time 10 hours 50 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 2
Quality of cheapest flight found = 2
Range of filters available = 1
Quantity of airlines found = 2
Overall score 7/12
Expedia can search flights, hotels, flights + hotels, cars and activities which be great if you’re looking to put together a package in one go. I’ve used it for packages to Australia in the past and like that they have localised site versions.
It definately found fewer airlines to choose between and the cheapest flight was not only 2.7 times the price of others but required a stopover instead of being direct.
Travel Supermarket
Cheapest flight found:
£106 (approx $203.48NZ not including currency exchange fees) found on Kiwi.com
Norse
Direct
JFK to London Gatwick
Total time 7 hours, 20 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 2
Quality of cheapest flight found = 3
Range of filters available = 1
Quantity of airlines found = 2
Overall score 8/12
It’s the same Kiwi.com again but more expensive than booking directly or through other flight aggragators.
Travel Supermarket also offers flights, hotels, car hire and insurance but it only deals in pounds and the search functions are incredibly basic. For these reasons I think this is the first and last time I will visit their site, but the simplicity may suit certain UK peeps.
Google Flight Search (Google.com/flights)
Cheapest Flight Found:
$486NZD
TAP Portugal
Via Lisbon (1hr 25 mins)
Total time 10 hours 50 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 3
Quality of cheapest flight found = 2
Range of filters available = 2
Quantity of airlines found = 3
Overall score 10/12
You’d kind of expect Google to find the cheapest flights given it’s backed by the biggest search engine on the planet. Based on this exercise this appears to not be the case but it pulled the results at lightning speed and refreshed automatically as I changed parameters which I loved.
Google wants to present you with the best flights rather than the cheapest and the price filter only lets you reduce to $1000 or under rather than being able to make it any cheaper. It sends you directly to the airline to book your flight.
I also learnt you can enter your departure airport and see fight options all over a world map and decide where you want to go!
Momondo
Cheapest Flight Found:
$238NZD
Norse
Direct
JFK to London Gatwick
Total time 7 hours, 20 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 3
Quality of cheapest flight found = 2
Range of filters available = 2
Quantity of airlines found = 3
Overall score 10/12
The best value flight it found was the Norse flight on Kiwi.com at the same slightly higher price as Kayak did.
Momondo searches across airlines, travel sites and low cost carriers to find the best flight deals and directs the user to the companies selling them for free.
I’d never visited the Momondo website before but to me it had the best looking interface including clear graphical information showing when it would be cheaper to travel in the month. Despite Momondo not picking up the cheapest flight I am converted and will likely use it (as well as others) to search for flights or hotels in the future.
MyTrip.com
Cheapest Flight Found:
$468.41NZD
PLAY
Newburgh to London Stansted
Via Reykjavik (stopover 1 hr 40 minutes)
Total time 10 hours, 30 minutes
Score:
Site (quality, easy of use and functionality) = 2
Quality of cheapest flight found = 2
Range of filters available = 1
Quantity of airlines found = 1
Overall score 6/12
I came across an ad for MyTrip which I’d never heard of while searching for Hipmunk which it turns out closed in 2020. They search for flights, hotels and car hire across travel websites but clearly aren’t doing a stunning job only finding this option as the cheapest.
In Summary – which is the best flight aggregator?
- Most flight aggregators were finding the same flight through Kiwi.com as the cheapest making Kiwi.com appear to be the best flight aggregator in the market. However having read this article about Kiwi.com earlier this year where a couple lost $24,000 due to booking unusable airfares through the site, I would instead pay the additional $2 and book directly through the airline. It’s interesting Kiwi.com can undercut the airline’s pricing.
- Many of the sites scored quite similarly but had strengths in different areas
- The same Norse flight came up again and again with variances in price between the different aggregator sites.
- The first time I ran this exercise, in some cases the prices initially displayed were out of date and I had to go back and get a refreshed price which was higher. This is super annoying and makes those displaying live rates much less frustrating.
- Running this exercise five years after my first attempt the prices have reduced a lot and there are more budget airlines in competition with each other.
- In this case the flights found were within mostly within a small price range but with a couple of outliers. The lesson is probably to consult several and find the best option for you.
| Provider | Cheapest flight found |
| Kiwi.com | Norse $179NZD |
| Expedia | TAP Portugal (via Lisbon) $489NZD |
| Kayak | Norse $238.01NZD |
| Momondo | Norse $238.01NZD |
| MyTrip | PLAY (via Reykjavik) $468.41NZD |
| Skyscanner | Norse $179NZD |
| Travel Supermarket | Norse $203.48NZ |
| Google Flights | TAP Portugal (via Lisbon) $486NZD |
Which do you think is the best flight aggregator on the internet?
Please note this is not the result of extensive research – just a single scenario on one date. Do your own research to get the best deal for you on the day.
I’d never heard of any of these before! They seem so helpful, so thank you!
Alisha x
Author
Wow really? Where do you book your travel through online?
This is so helpful! I didn’t know about a few of these. Kayak and Hopper are my primary ones!
Author
Thanks Rachel! Was not aware of Hopper – cool app!