There are many ways to find the cheapest possible flights these days; even Google's Gemini AI can help you outsmart the ever-changing prices set by the airline industry. But Google Flights is trying to make it even easier to get the cheapest possible flights, even if it means sacrificing a bit of convenience in the process.

Google Flights works with all the algorithms Google is good at, typically providing the best combination of pricing and convenience to find the best ticket prices. Currently, the Flights menu splits everything into two separate tabs. There is the “Best” results tab, which provides traditional Google Flights results, and “Cheapest,” which is a completely literal description.

To test this, I entered the details of a two-week trip from New York to Tokyo leaving next August, and Google Flights tells me that the best flights are direct flights from the US, JAL, and ANA, with round-trip economy class tickets costing between 670 and 718 pounds. This translates to $873 to $935, but for some reason Google Flights does not show both tabs when I switch the currency to US dollars.

According to Google, these prices are “typical” for that type of trip, but they are not the cheapest flights currently available; the “Cheapest” tab shows that flying Air Canada will save you some money, although you will have to make a connection in Montreal or Toronto. The flight to Montreal costs £635/$828 with a 2 hour 21 minute layover, while a transfer in Toronto costs £640/$834 with a 1 hour 10 minute layover.

The price difference is not particularly large for this particular route, but it does show that there are ways to save money if you are willing to sacrifice the convenience of a direct flight; the fact that an extra hour and ten minutes of waiting can make or break whether it is worth saving $6 on the price of an air ticket Needless to say.

Of course, the way airlines price airline tickets is a mystery and sometimes makes no sense. For example, if one were to fly from JFK to LAX in January 2025, the lowest price would be £255/$332, with no checked baggage and a 57-minute layover in Las Vegas. On the other hand, a direct flight with checked luggage saves nearly two extra hours of travel time and is only $25 more expensive.

Is that extra fee worth it? Only you can decide that. You can choose whether you are willing to sacrifice convenience and take the extra risk for a few dollars. Google claims to take into account the length of wait times, self-transfers, being forced to make multiple purchases, traveling from different airports, etc.

Maybe you only save $25, but that $25 might be better utilized elsewhere, such as buying yourself dinner at the airport. The food at the airport is only slightly above airplane food, so it won't be a very good meal, but it's better than nothing, right?