Google lets US users search for flight information

ADVERTISING BROKER Google has launched a flight search feature that allows users to find flight information and prices.

Earlier this year Google completed its purchase of ITA Software, a firm that organises airline data, and since then Google has been working to incorporate the data ITA has access to within its infrastructure. That effort has resulted in US users being able to not only view flights between particular destinations but prices too.

Google emphasised that the results shown by its flight search service are "not influenced by any paid relationships". The firm also bangs on that its search results are fast and simple. The fact that it claims its search results are not influenced by advertisers is a surprising one, since after all that is what Google does with its web search results.

If Google isn't making money directly from advertising then it makes you wonder why Google bothered buying ITA in the first place. It could be a way of disarming those web sites that have already sued Google alleging that it promotes its own web services ahead of those of its competitors.

Of course Google's flight search enhances the ability to colour its social graph, but it is also an illustration of Google's vision to make itself the sole destination on the web by aggregating as many services as possible into a single location.

A cut down version of Google's flight search service is available to users in the UK, though it's little more than a listing of flights going out of UK airports. µ