AI-powered flight booking and its advantages [00:24]
- A significant portion (around 28%) of flight tickets are not listed on common search engines like Google or Skyscanner.
- Low-cost airlines (e.g., Ryanair, Southwest Airlines, Jipe Air) often avoid these platforms to save on commission fees, making their tickets harder to find.
- AI can uncover error fares and surprise sales that may not be immediately visible on traditional search sites.
- The video highlights an example of finding a flight to London for $16.96, a drastic reduction from the usual $400-500 price.
How to Use AI for Flight Searches [04:43]
To leverage AI for finding the best flight deals, you should:
- Include alternate airports: Search for flights to nearby airports (e.g., Newark and LaGuardia instead of just JFK for New York). AI can automate this.
- Be flexible with travel dates: Flights are often cheaper on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. AI can help identify these cheaper days.
- Provide detailed prompts: Give AI specific information, including departure/arrival cities (with alternate airports), preferred dates, and openness to layovers.
- Use ChatGPT and Google Gemini: While both are useful, the video suggests ChatGPT might find more hidden routes and provide more reliable information.
Seven Prompts for Flight Searches [08:47]
The video offers seven effective prompts to guide your AI flight searches:
- Basic search: "Find the cheapest flight from [your city] to [your destination] next month, including hidden routes and alternate airports."
- Find hidden airlines: "Ask for low-cost airlines that are not listed on Google Flights or Skyscanner."
- Optimize layovers: "Ask for layover cities that can lower the ticket price, even if it means booking separate tickets."
- Special deals: "Ask for any error fares, surprise discounts, or unusually cheap tickets from [your departure airport]."
- Compare platforms: "Ask the AI to compare prices across all platforms and tell you which one is the cheapest."
- Monitor prices: "Ask the AI to monitor the flight price for a few days and notify you if it drops below a certain amount."
- Compare one-way and round-trip tickets: "Ask the AI to check if it’s cheaper to buy two one-way tickets or one round-trip ticket."
Important Reminders [11:14]
- Double-check information: Always verify AI-provided details on the airline’s official website before booking.
- Be cautious with complex bookings: Separate tickets or complicated itineraries can be difficult to modify later.
- Act fast on error fares: Extremely cheap tickets might be error fares that could be quickly corrected.