Google Flight Search = Full of #fail

I saw recently that Google Flight Search (which I assume came as a part of the of ITA acquisition) has launched so I was eager to give it a try.  I fly quite regularly (this year though I have driven more) and was excited to see what cool things Google would bring to flight search.

NOTE:  I don’t see any “beta” tag or “preview” tab in anything here so I’m assuming it is a full product

I live in Grand Rapids, MI and have to make a connection anywhere I go, makes getting status on hops/segments pretty easy and there are no flights available between Grand Rapids and anywhere

That’s right no flights available.  I played with the “Any number of stops” section, “Any Airline” portion, “Any Connection”, etc and still nothing.  Next try was a location that flies directly from Grand Rapids: Chicago, Detroit, Dallas/Ft. Worth, etc. and nothing.  No flights available at all.  Maybe I was looking at the wrong date?  Tried changing dates and no flights. 

However I live in a big city (hub?) there are plenty of options and the system looks great. 

I really enjoy how quickly it seems to respond and I like the different options.

 

However I will probably never use Google Flight for booking my travels.  Sorry you loose

Travel stats for 2011

I travel a lot for my job and just wanted to post my travel stats for 2011.

This is the second year flying Continental and I hit Gold on their frequent flyer program.  Also for the 4th year in a row I renewed my platinum status w/ Marriott.

 

• Flight segments on Continental:  68
• Lifetime flight miles: 60,635 (only 2nd year flying Continental
• Flew completely on Regional Jets, either Embrarer or Bombardier Dash Turbojets
• Flight segments on Delta: 1 (due to a cancelation of a Continental flight which was rebooked on)
• Marriott Nights:  95

I would fly this airline

In the Information Week issue dated Nov. 30, 2009 there is an article titled: “A Web Presence Needs Sizzle, For Shizzle,” (btw I hate when everything is capitalized when it isn’t needed) makes the case for some airline about sharing it’s data:

“If someone’s a frequent flier, the airline should, in theory, know that person’s routes, favorite flight times, frequency of upgrade requests (and success), how early he checks in online or in person… Being an Executive Platinum could put them in a club where they could connect with other frequent fliers, perhaps ones who fly similar routes or conduct similar types of business….”

I travel a lot for work and if there was an airline that did all this, sign me up.  Customer service (or lack thereof) is why I switched from United to Continental even though I was giving up status.  If I could better track my data (like TripIt) already does, could get special offers on routes I fly, instead of junk advertising on specials on routes I would never fly (San Fran to San Jose, when I live in Michigan) this would mean something to me. 

Also exposing this type of data, it may make the airlines better as more and more information is available for the public to slice and dice.