I always use the ITA Software Matrix. It’s one of the most useful tools to search for available flights and low fares. First, go to matrix.itasoftware.com.
Type in your home airport and destination airport. You can use airport codes like JFK (New York-JFK) or even city codes like NYC (which includes JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark.)
For this example, let’s look at JFK to Honolulu. ITA Matrix is awesome, so you can type in all kinds of commands like which airline you want to fly. In the example below, I wrote HA into the boxes, which means only return Hawaiian Airlines results. I did that because Hawaiian has a direct flight from JFK to Honolulu. If you leave that blank, all airlines will be returned.
I also prefer to search certain length trips one month at a time for the lowest fares, so use that section of the form by selecting “See calendar of lowest fares.” I’ve asked it to search for 3-8 night itineraries leaving in the month of January.
After you click “Search” you will be taken to a calendar displaying the lowest fare departing each day. You can ignore fares in light blue (though $447 is still a great price). You are targeting the $435 days in bold orange.
Clicking on a particular date will bring up the lowest prices departing on that date and returning 3-8 days later. Once you have found a comfortable length of time, click to display the flight.
Remember that the ITA Matrix is only for finding airfares. You don’t have the ability to book directly through this site. Write down the dates and flight numbers that work for you, and book directly through Hawaiianairlines.com.
I use ITA Matrix because a quick one-minute search can show me a month at a time on a specific airline or all airlines. Then I can go the airline’s site, select seats, and purchase easily.
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Hey Scott, love your work on this site!
Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something with ITA. Doesn’t google flights have the same flexibility and results along with superior interface/usability? By selecting the calendar, you can easily choose the number of days of your trip and graphically see prices across the entire month (and also scroll to other dates with ease using the arrows). I also find it significantly faster.
Is there anything the ITA software can do that google flights doesn’t?
Thanks!
I think there are some differences. Can anyone chime in and point them out?
IMHO, Google Flights is cleaner for the average user. However, with ITA you can get a lot more specificity in your searches using its advanced syntax. HackMyTrip has a nice write-up on using the advanced routing features here:
http://hackmytrip.com/2012/01/advanced-routing-language-in-ita/
Yes, that post is something I have studied quite a bit to give me a basis in the advanced syntax.
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Thanks for the compliment!
Obviously, It doesn’t always work.
I checked the flights I need on ITA, and I was surprised with the price as it was incredibly cheap. However, when I went to the website of the airlines, the actual price was way more than that. Disappointed.
@Handan, try using Orbitz or one of those online travel agencies, you will find that the ITA matrix fares are often the same on Orbitz and other websites. You don’t need to book directly with the airline.