How to search Kayak for flights
Kayak searches airlines and agencies at once and hands you off to whoever sells the ticket. Use it as the second search after Google Flights, because it surfaces agencies Google leaves out.
Site: Kayak
Type: Metasearch
Owned by: Booking Holdings
What Kayak is good at
- Filters that go deep. Cabin, number of stops, specific airports, layover length, aircraft, and time of day, all applied without re-running the search.
- Explore. A map view priced by destination, for when the dates are fixed and the destination is not.
- Hacker Fares. Two one-way tickets from different airlines, combined into one itinerary and priced together. On short-haul routes these are regularly the cheapest thing on the page.
What to watch for
A Hacker Fare is two separate tickets. If the first airline delays you and you miss the second flight, neither airline owes you the second seat. Take them when the connection is generous or the two legs are days apart, and think twice when it is a tight same-day connection.
Kayak's results include agencies of very mixed quality. The price is real; the customer service behind it may not be. Look at who is selling before you click through.
Use it like this
- Search the route with Flexible dates on, so the results open on the price calendar rather than a single day.
- Set Stops and Layover duration before you look at anything else. A four-hour saving that costs a nine-hour layover is not a saving.
- Turn on Include nearby airports. Kayak will show you the alternative and the price gap side by side.
- When a Hacker Fare appears at the top, open it and check who the two airlines are and how long the gap between the legs is.
- Note the price, then check the airline's own site before you book through whoever Kayak hands you to.
Verdict
Worth having open alongside Google Flights, and the best of the metasearch sites for a trip with awkward constraints.
Common questions
Who owns Kayak?
Booking Holdings.
Does Kayak sell tickets directly?
No. It compares prices and hands you off to the airline or an agency to complete the booking.