I listened in to another Air Transport World webinar last week discussing how mobile technology will transform the future of air travel, and I offer up some of my notes below. The full presentation, including audio and slides, can be found here.

The advent of smartphones has created a world where we can literally search, book and manage our flights on the go with many airlines offering their own apps and/or mobile versions of their website. A recent survey revealed that 16% of travelers currently use smartphones to book trips, and that figure will increase dramatically over time according to Norm Rose of Travel Tech Consulting, one of the speakers. Some other interesting stats:

• The number of worldwide subscriptions for wireless services reached 5 billion in September 2010.
• The worldwide smartphone market grew 79.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2011.
• 73.4% of the Earth’s population subscribes to wireless services.
• One third of frequent flyers and one quarter of 18-34 year olds use smartphones and tablets for booking compared to 16% for total travelers. Here’s a bit more detail for the groups with their definition of “frequent flyer” as those having taken eight or more trips (what lightweights!).

The mobility we enjoy today with airline apps and mobile websites is fantastic, but what does the future hold? A J.D Power survey provided a list of functions airlines are either currently developing or have under consideration and asked travelers which they might use. Here are the results:

I was surprised the percentages weren’t higher for mobile check-in and flight status updates given their widespread use today. It shows, though, that traditional channels to complete those functions are still in the majority today. The sale of ancillary services via smartphones will likely become reality as the years pass according to the presenters, but are currently processed the majority of time online with mobile devices accounting for only 1.4% of transactions as seen below:

Some of the constraints to bring full service functionality to our mobile devices include integration issues with airline IT systems, cost of development, fragmentation of platforms and mobile operating systems, and the simple fact that not everyone has a smartphone. Full feature phones are still widely used and most can’t necessarily support some of the advanced functions smartphone apps allow.

The panelists believe we’ll see several new developments go live within the next couple of years, including mobile electronic e-vouchers for airline disservice, airport coupon offers delivered to your phone based on your location in the airport and enhanced & immediate social media responsiveness where a carrier resolves an issue within minutes of contact via Twitter or Facebook, for example. Possibly in five years time we’ll see widespread use of near field communication mobile boarding, mobile payments and interactive video and voice command applications.

It’s an exciting era we’re entering with technology enabling continuous engagement between airlines and travelers across all aspects of the travel life cycle – from pre-trip planning through post-trip feedback and reviews. I look forward to the advancements, but think the timeline for some of the services discussed will be further down the road than presented. Attendees were asked a few instant survey questions during the hour-long webcast, which I think shows why we might not see such advancements as quickly.

We’ll get there and while it might be slower than hoped among the presenters, I look forward to the efficiency our mobile devices will bring to the air travel experience. It’s simply amazing what we can do today compared to when I began flying regularly. I used mobile check-in for my latest United Airlines trip and will certainly continue to do so in the future. How do you check-in for flights today and what features would you like to see added to existing mobile technologies?

I finally finished editing the immense amount of video I took on my trip in First Class on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and posted it yesterday on YouTube. Yes, it’ll be 10 minutes out of your life if you watch it in its entirety, but if you’re an aviation geek like me, you’ll absolutely love it.

I went with live sound as music would have ruined some of the unique airplane noises I’ve grown so fond of. It includes footage of both the First Class and Business Class sections of British Airways’ Terraces Lounge at San Francisco airport, along with quite a bit of coverage on the airplane itself. Cathay certainly has an incredibly comfortable and soothing nose section on their 747s.

You’ll also see an Air France A380 parked at the gate in San Francisco, a Lufthansa A380 taking off and probably more than you care to see of an airplane lavatory. I’ve updated my Cathay Pacific Flight 879 post to include the video, but wanted to feature it as a unique post today on BoardingArea. I hope you enjoy it!

Inspired by seeing Pan Am’s 707 take to the skies on television this past Sunday, I bring you another Boeing 707 for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps. The American Airlines 707-323C appearing below isn’t hugely different from the -123 version I posted earlier this year, but I still find it fun to note the differences.

This aircraft is eight feet longer than its predecessor and boasts an impressive range (for the time period) of 5,100 statute miles. American’s configuration saw 14 seats in First Class and 133 in coach. I wish the seat pitch figures were published on this map as I can basically guarantee coach was in the 36” to 38” range.

Always preferring to be away from the galley, you’d find me in row four or five in First Class and probably row nine or 10 in coach for a great forward view of the scenery and to geek out over the wing and engines. Row 22 looks ideal for couples, however, so might be drawn to those if I had a traveling companion.

Where would you sit?

Image courtesy American Airlines

CX Trip Report: Introduction & American Airlines flight to San Francisco

CX Trip Report: Check-in and British Airways’ Terraces Lounge San Francisco Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific flight 879 San Francisco-Hong Kong

CX Trip Report: Amenity Kit Review – Cathay Pacific First Class men’s kit

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Arrival” lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Pier” First Class lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific flight 884 Hong Kong-Los Angeles

After leaving Cathay Pacific’s “The Wing” I headed for the intra-terminal train station as the airport is absolutely enormous and a walk to “The Pier” didn’t seem appealing. As with the previous lounge, First Class and Business Class have separate and unique entries.

I took the escalator down one level to reception, presented my boarding pass containing a re-entry stamp and was welcomed into the lounge. Some reviewers dislike the dungeon-esque feeling being downstairs as there really are no windows with a view (one row of frosted windows exists where you can see the silhouettes of aircraft on the ramp), but I found it warm and exclusive.

Several groups of seating areas with comfortable leather chairs and couches were situated throughout the space, some surrounding televisions and others set up as if they were in an entertainment-free living room. Wait staff are just as attentive at The Pier as they were at The Wing and moments after finding a seat, I was approached and asked what I wanted to drink.

After a while, I went to check out The Haven, the same buffet-style restaurant as is found at The Wing. The layout here, though, is more appealing offering a true restaurant feel with a unique area for tables and another for buffet service. I probably should have mentioned this in my review of The Wing, but its setup was more reminiscent of what you’d find at a Holiday Inn Express – an area with uninspired seating next to a buffet counter. Yes, it was much busier at The Wing when I ate there, but this setup provides a lot more space and definitive sections.

Still in the breakfast hours, I went for a sort-of Eggs Benedict dish without the hollandaise sauce and ham (yes, it really was ham this time!) with a couple wedges of watermelon.

After eating, I wandered around a bit snapping a couple more pictures of the entry to three of the six Daybreak rooms – private enclaves where you can sleep or lounge and watch TV – and the ample section of computer workstations. Now here’s where I’m a bad blogger… I did not get a chance to check out the Daybreak rooms or shower facilities as I had to make my way back to the terminal for boarding. Next time!

If you only have time to hit one First Class lounge on your trip with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, I’d recommend The Pier over The Wing right now, but reserve the right to change my opinion once the remainder of Level 7 opens over at The Wing. I had a far more soothing and enjoyable experience at The Pier. Next up will be the final installment of this trip report reviewing my flight back to Los Angeles onboard a Cathay Boeing 777.

The Department of Transportation has been taking a much more active interest in how airlines sell tickets and deal with passengers during delays and cancellations. The next round of passenger protections goes live January 24, 2012 and will require airlines to advertise all-in prices inclusive of taxes and fees, allow 24-hour holds or refunds and clearly identify baggage fees on itinerary receipts. George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, wrote an article last week for USA Today spelling out 12 regulations he’d like to see introduced and further discussed them with Peter Greenberg, a popular travel industry reporter, analyst and TV personality.

I fully respect George and actively follow his website via Twitter, where they often are first to report amazing airfare deals when airlines publish sale fares. I will, however, take issue with a few of his desired passenger protections from that USA Today article.

First up, he’d like to require that airlines protect you at their cost on another airline if a schedule change occurs pre-travel that no longer fits your schedule. The current policy offers a full refund or finds alternate flights on the same carrier. In my experience, most schedule changes are done more than 60 days from departure and are typically minor, being a matter of a few minutes in time change or a swap to a different aircraft type.

For those that are significant, which is what he’s referring to, a schedule change can cause a nonstop to become a connection or possibly even be as severe as an outright discontinuation of service to a city. George claims these most severe schedule changes will “force you to buy a much more expensive last minute fare on another airline.” Again, since these are generally done with a decent lead-time, there are usually acceptable options from which to choose alternate flights on the same carrier and if not, a refund is still acceptable. A DOT rule requiring rebooking on another carrier just isn’t going to happen.

Then, in the case where a carrier goes from daily service to, say, five times weekly, he’s calling for the airline to pay any additional costs the passenger would be forced to pay, such as hotel nights, extra car rental days and meals. Here, the carrier would likely have other flights from which to get you out the same day and if not, then I still agree with a full refund versus covering costs or booking you on another carrier. All passengers are bound by the airline’s contract of carriage when buying tickets, and those rules spell out what is done in the case of schedule changes. No, I don’t read the contract as I doubt any person really does, but the DOT would not create a passenger protection calling for reimbursement of expenses in these instances and instead agree with a full refund as exists today.

Another rule he’d like to see implemented that I disagree with might likely bring me some hate email. He’s proposing airlines add in one or two rows in economy with extra wide seats to accommodate passengers of size. Currently, they have two options: buy an extra economy seat or upgrade into a premium class. I think that’s fair since the cost for what he’s proposing would far exceed the limited amount of time such seats would be necessary. Airlines should not have to plan for passenger-unique contingencies when other options are currently available on every flight. Not going to happen.

Next, he’s calling for airlines to refund taxes paid on a non-refundable ticket if the passenger cancels the flight. Usually here you’re dinged a $150 fee and the residual value can be applied to a new flight. That’s pretty generous in my opinion. He used the example of buying something at Sears and then returning it mentioning they would refund the full amount, including sales tax. Apples to oranges here. What if that Sears item was labeled “no refunds, no returns,” as is the case for non-refundable fares. The airline seems pretty generous in this case, doesn’t it? I’d say returnable consumer items equate more to a refundable airfare on an airline.

Other items he mentions are worth their merit and I suggest you read the article in its entirety. Finally, I’ll nit pick over some of the comments made in Peter Greenberg’s article. I like Peter, but many road warriors know his tips and suggestions are aimed at the very basic occasional traveler.

His recent travels on United Airlines caused him angst when they called, “Global Services members followed by our Premier Executives, followed by our 1K, followed by our Premier, followed by our Gold, followed by Silver, groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5” for boarding. Ugh. Maybe I’m being anal about this, but his order is incorrect. His status levels are out of place and some have been combined, plus there’s no group five. Anyway, his complaint is over how many different groups there are to board and calls for a simpler system.

George chimes in saying the “premiere flyers are clogging up the aisles for the people in the back of the plane.” No we’re not. We’re the expert flyers getting our bags in the overhead first and settling into our seats quickly. Peter wants us to board last claiming, “why would (elites) want to get on the plane early just to watch everybody board the plane?” Because we want the overhead space. We fly more than once or twice a year and are far more efficient when it comes to every activity at the airport from clearing security to boarding an airplane.

I’ll stop now, but I generally cringe when some of these articles appear and feel compelled to rebut them. George means well and I really do respect his experience and website. I just wish a bit more realism came with his suggestions, since he knows full well the constraints airlines are under and realistically what the DOT can accomplish. Am I being too harsh, or do you agree?

In anticipation of tonight’s premier of the ABC television series Pan Am, I found this promotional video from Pan Am from 1958 showing the luxury and elegance of their Boeing 707 “Clipper” jet service. Note how similar the flight attendants uniforms are to those seen on the TV show. Well done, ABC, for being true to era. I need a time machine!

In other airline, hotel & travel industry news this week…

• Analysts expect United Airlines to place a major aircraft order early next year for as many as 200 narrowbody aircraft, possibly splitting it up between Airbus and Boeing. In a much better financial position for such a large order than American, I would anticipate these new birds would eventually replace the 757 fleet and oldest A319 and A320s. Separately, United’s old world headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL remains up for sale with no takers for the past two years. One real estate agent claims no corporation wants such a sprawling campus anymore and cites a changing workplace that desires “open, lots of light in a cubed environment.” Actually, that’s exactly what those buildings have. I worked in two of the buildings and while there are offices, the majority of the layout is open & light filled.
• For severe delays, United has historically sent a proactive email with compensation choices, but easyJet in Europe is taking a remarkably different approach. Here, if you’ve paid for the full ‘Flexi fare’ ticket and your flight is delayed more than 15 minutes, you’ll get a free ticket anywhere the carrier flies. Pretty generous, although their route network only goes so far as it’s more of an intra-Europe Southwest-style airline.
• Additional consumer protection rules for airline advertising will begin January 24, 2012 whereby airlines will be required to display advertised prices inclusive of all taxes and fees. Allegiant, Southwest and Spirit challenged the Department of Transportation claiming it would create an undue burden on internal systems and create confusion in the minds of travelers. Their motion for a stay was denied. Also coming in January will be the free 24-hour hold or cancellation policy for carriers who don’t have it today, notification on e-ticket receipts spelling out baggage allowances and fees, and a rule prohibiting post-purchase increases in airfares.
• Good and bad news for Qantas this week. The carrier announced it will begin offering in-flight internet on their flagship Airbus A380 aircraft early next year on a trial basis. Qantas’ former CEO John Borghetti promised onboard Wi-Fi back in 2007 for the superjumbo, which will also include internet and email access via the seat-back screens. For the bad news, Qantas experienced two days of strikes this past week by ground staff forcing them to cancel 30 flights on Tuesday and a few on Friday. Other flights were delayed anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.
• Delta Air Lines and Virgin Australia’s codeshare agreement has won approval to officially begin selling each other’s flights on a limited amount of routes, extend lounge access to members of both frequent flyer programs and co-locate operations. In Los Angeles, V Australia flights will now arrive and depart from Delta’s Terminal 5 at LAX, which will undergo a renovation during the next several years. Delta is looking to modernize the terminal, lounge and boarding gates and will cover nearly $12 million in costs of the overall $229 million terminal refresh.
• Finally, American keeps losing battles in court with regard to restricting Online Travel Agencies from selling the carriers flight unless they adopt a direct connect system to bypass GDSs. This week an appellate court ruled American must allow Orbitz to sell the carrier’s flight as “Customers searching for travel packages want to book the flights they find.” Separately, a court date has finally been set to hear the arguments between American Airlines and Sabre where the airline alleges the GDS sponsored a boycott of the carrier and other anticompetitive practices. Both sides will present their cases beginning June 13, 2012.

CX Trip Report: Introduction & American Airlines flight to San Francisco

CX Trip Report: Check-in and British Airways’ Terraces Lounge San Francisco Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific flight 879 San Francisco-Hong Kong

CX Trip Report: Amenity Kit Review – Cathay Pacific First Class men’s kit

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Arrival” lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific “The Pier” First Class lounge Hong Kong Airport

CX Trip Report: Cathay Pacific flight 884 Hong Kong-Los Angeles

Check-in for my return flight to Los Angeles was super quick and with boarding pass and lounge invitation in hand, I made my way through security and immigration exit control with ease. Just past that area I was immediately greeted with a sign directing me to Cathay Pacific’s “The Wing” First Class lounge.

It’s a short walk down a narrow corridor on the balcony level overlooking gate areas below and large windows facing the tarmac.

I was greeted pleasantly having surrendered my lounge invitation and was directed around the corner to the main seating area. Before making my way there I took a quick look into “The Library” immediately adjacent to reception. Only one person was in there at that time using one of the workstations, so was able to take a quick video of this relaxing section, which is included below. Then I passed the restrooms on the left and several walk-in cubbies with a vast selection of international newspapers and magazines to the right.

The main seating area had several mini sections with comfortable chairs and sofas, as well as six single-sided workstation units with plenty of seats, outlets and a computer & printer at one end. Waiters were abundant and constantly circling around asking for your beverage order.

Near the back of the lounge was another sectioned off seating area with leather chairs and side tables, and here is where you would normally be able to access the Level 7 Business Class section. It, however, is closed for renovations until early 2012, so I was unable to see Cathay’s unique The Noodle Bar and The Long Bar.

First Class passengers have access to The Haven, a buffet style restaurant, and The Cabanas, private bath, shower & relaxation suites. The restaurant was absolutely jam-packed and I waited a few minutes for them to clear off a table. It was so busy, in fact, that I felt too awkward to even snap a shot of the area with my iPhone. I did manage to take a picture of my meager food selections of a scrambled egg “boat,” some kind of processed meat (I really don’t know what it was) and watermelon.

Afterwards, I asked if a cabana was open and was directed to one of the eight total that are available. Each private room features a bathtub, separate shower room, toilet, sink area and backyard with a chaise lounge chair on one side and longer flat bench-style seating on the other. The backyard is semi-private meaning that all the other cabanas open onto the same long community row of rocks facing the frosted wall where you can see people’s silhouettes as they pass. Here, you could literally step out onto the rocks and walk the length of the cabanas if you wanted to be weird. I sat down for a bit in the chair, but a couple that had the two cabanas to my right were talking to each other constantly from their backyards so it was anything but relaxing sitting out there. I took some video and then went back to the main seating area to relax for a while.

The tall ceilings and open-air feel are very nice, as is the view out to the tarmac. My only complaint here, though, is you have to actually stand up to look outside at the ramp as the frosted glass partitions rise too high when you’re seated. I ordered a coffee and orange juice, shot some video and worked a bit on my computer.

While nice, this lounge has seen its better days and it is slated for a makeover early next year. I was hoping for something more like Lufthansa’s First Class lounge offerings in Frankfurt or Thai’s in Bangkok, but this lounge came nowhere close to that level of service and ambiance. I’d consider it more of an upgraded Business Class lounge, actually.

After a while I decided to make the trek to Cathay’s “The Pier” First Class lounge and received a re-entry stamp on my boarding pass for admittance. That lounge review will be up next for this trip report and in the meantime, take a look at a bit more of “The Wing” in this video.

United Airlines provided the details for the 2012 Mileage Plus program yesterday, as was widely reported and blogged. Many of the speculated changes did not actually come to pass, but there are some program details leaving many disappointed. All the specifics can be found here and I offer my comments on some of them below.

Tiers. As expected, United officially rolled out four mileage/segment-based tiers from Silver to 1K with “Premier” being the branded leading word at all levels. Global Services still exists, of course, on an invitation-only basis determined by your annual spend. I think adding the 75,000-mile level was a smart move to further reward the higher mileage flying 75,000 to 99,999 members with some extra goodies, including matching the fee waivers 1Ks currently enjoy. A few other highlights (Elite Qualifying Miles & Segments are now Premier Qualifying Miles & Segments: PQM/PQS):

United cut bonus miles back down below 100% for lower level elites, as it was about 20 years ago. I think it’s fair, actually, but will be uncompetitive with the rest of the industry except US Airways. Slight adjustments to the upgrade windows were made and the minimum four-segment requirement – the least worrisome rumored change – did make an appearance. Apparently the backlash United received from the “leaked” tier-based revenue requirements were bad enough to keep it totally off the program. I was ready to book a discounted business class ticket to Australia next year had they required it, but will happily achieve 1K again inexpensively.

Upgrades. After Global Services, priority is now given to elites on full-fare Y and B tickets (plus M for 1Ks), so the all mighty dollar on any given flight is now more important to United than long-term loyalty. I think this is remarkably unfair to the consistently loyal elite who, say, normally buys last-minute tickets for business travel only to get penalized when they pre-plan a vacation and booked a cheaper rate. It just doesn’t make sense to me. On the other hand, mileage upgrades – and regionals & systemwides, now named Regional Premier Upgrades & Global Premier Upgrades – will trump anyone looking for a complimentary upgrade and while hard to swallow, I agree with this. Priority should be given to instrument-sponsored upgrades before any complimentaries should come into play. I know some of you will disagree with me here.

Fare-based bonus miles. Finally United is awarding bonus miles for full-fare economy tickets and also greatly enhanced bonuses for the premium cabins. Here’s a summary showing the current percentages and what will eventually be the new structure once both carriers are on the Shares GDS (late first quarter 2012).

Economy Plus access. In quite a bitch-slap to the 25,000- to 49,999-mile flyers, United will now only allow Premier Silvers to reserve an Economy Plus seat at time of check-in. I think United had better end one of their current advertisements advising “Place your expectations in the upright position.”

Lifetime benefits. I am incredibly pleased with the details for the million-miler program. First, United will make a one-time adjustment to add in elite qualifying miles (EQMs) from years past since Continental Airlines’ current program incorporates those miles. Not counting the “roll-over” bonus EQMs I received in 2009 and 2010 (will those count?) I probably have about 15,000 miles coming to me. Going forward, only actual flight miles will count toward status and I’m fine with that having been used to it as a United flyer. Thankfully, at one million miles, United will bestow lifetime Premier Gold status (I had feared Silver), Premier Platinum for two million, Premier 1K for three million and (wow!) Global Services for four million. Also, million-milers will be able to designate a spouse or significant other with matching status.

I can now happily continue my trek for million-miler status having seriously been considering a jump over to American Airlines if the program were unattractive. I still have a nagging worry, though, that we’ll eventually see reduced PQMs for the cheapest tickets. With United relenting on a hard figure revenue requirement, will they boldly be the first U.S. carrier to attempt a shakeup of elite qualification based on fare?

As widely reported and reviewed, Google launched their much-anticipated Flight Search feature after having completed the acquisition of ITA Software. ITA’s Matrix Airfare Search tool is bar none the most robust and user-friendly way to search for airfares – everything from simple roundtrips to complex multi-city combinations – and it’s my go-to website where I build all of my itineraries. The only thing it lacks is the ability to purchase directly on the site and we’ve all been expecting Google to come out with an industry leading booking engine packed with bells and whistles. The product they launched, however, is anything but revolutionary and is completely underwhelming.

I’ll get into my thoughts on why they launched it as is later, but first let me take you on a mini tour. My very first time plugging in an itinerary was met with a rather unfriendly error message. I searched for a simple Los Angeles to Chicago roundtrip leaving this Saturday September 24, 2011 and returning October 9^th.

Image courtesy Google

I was surprised to see the current restrictions requiring the itinerary to be shorter than 15 days along with the other notifications mentioning a minimum one-night stay and a maximum six-month booking window. Very un-ITA. I revised my booking dates and played with the map feature, which is actually pretty cool.

Image courtesy Google

It shows the rates to other cities in the United States for the same travel period, something useful if you also have your eye on another destination. As you can see from the map, only limited destinations are currently available and all within the U.S. One of the filtering tools allows you to set maximum price and duration (total travel time), but I think Google will confuse the average passenger here on how to manipulate the inputs, as well as what all those dots refer to.

Image courtesy Google

It looks more confusing than it should and I think they need to take away the “hit” points and just focus on the key inputs of price and duration with a better explanation to click on the “sliders” to adjust the filter. Would everyone know what the “sliders” are in this graphic? I think not. Continuing on below, I found several unfiltered (didn’t use the left-hand pane delimiters of # of stops, airline/alliance selection, connection points and times) flights from which to select my outbound.

Image courtesy Google

Nonstops were highlighted, but I think they need to do away with the confusing notification of result pulls. When you hover over the question mark next to “18 of 37 results,” it reveals “Longer and more expensive flights are hidden by default, increase the Price and Duration limits to see more results.” Okay, but then the notices next to each roundtrip price makes it seem like you’ll find 19 results, for example, if you were to click on that first American flight showing a $239 fare. That’s not the case and Google should remove those notifications. I selected a United flight and went on to pick the return.

Image courtesy Google

What’s incredibly strange here is the display of American flights for the return having picked United for the outbound. I’m at a loss why that happened, but played along and picked one of the flights. Notice here, though, that those pesky result notices, “XX from” have disappeared next to the price points. Google currently steers you directly to the airlines’ website to complete the booking, so when the “book” button appeared, it advised me I’d be ticketing the reservation with American (probably due to the fact it was the last segment on the itinerary). Shockingly, when I clicked through it did indeed setup the itinerary as selected.

Image courtesy American Airlines

How unfortunate for American had I continued to purchase with a United segment. Here, though, I finally get to see the aircraft type, something totally lacking on the Google side and while it might not be important to most people, I’m keen to know that during the selection process. I played around a bit more and was thoroughly disappointed at how lacking this initial incarnation was. I will give credit to its speed and correct transfer of data to the airline’s site, as well as being able to see nearby airports with ease via the dropdown option from the default airport based on your IP address (I assume).

Image courtesy Google

The obviousness that you’ve selected an outbound and return just isn’t there, however, so Google absolutely needs better and deliberate notification to the user that you’ve actually selected one or the other. There is a ton more I could criticize, but for now I’ll leave this post as is knowing Flight Search is an ultra-early deployment.

So why did Google release such an inferior and restrictive product? My guess is they wanted real-world load testing and who better to “employ” as beta testers than you and me? Our initial searches will do wonders for their analytics. Also, I’m certain they wanted these types of critical reviews before releasing what I’m expecting to be the leading search and booking engine. They know what they have with ITA and I’m certain we’ll eventually have a tool used as frequently as you would use native Google for any other search.

For further insightful remarks well beyond my simplistic example, be sure to check out Henry Harteveldt’s guest post on CrankyFlier. He takes you a bit deeper into the pros and cons of this immature release and correctly states “Google launched the product too soon.” Have you tried it out? What are your comments?

P.S., Be sure to check out my review of a more advanced tool available now: Everbread’s Haystack Flight Search. No, I have not been paid by, nor have any stake in Everbread or Haystack. I was just as critical of their preliminary public release, but have seen true innovation for what the future holds by way of a preview of its actual functionality that is light years ahead of this Google embarrassment.