Google launches its flight search tool in India

BENGALURU: Google has finally launched its flight search tool in India, a move that has been feared by online travel aggregators for some time. The tool allows users to find and compare airfares online and book tickets directly on an airline portal or through a partner aggregator. The new feature from the search giant cuts out online travel aggregators, who provide flight information and take a cut on the tickets they sell. Google's presence in the space could reduce traffic to their portals.


Goibibo, meanwhile, has partnered with Google Flight Search to display results from its own portal along with options thrown in by Google search from airline websites, when a user keys in requirements such as destination and travel date. Experts say Google Flight Search will impact online travel agents' marketing expenses, a majority of which is spent on online marketing.

"This move by Google will start an online bidding war among the online travel aggregators," said Aloke Bajpai, cofounder and chief executive of ixigo. com, a travel metasearch engine. Ixigo offers a similar tool that aggregates flight information and directs users to airline websites for bookings. Google's venture into flight search dates back to 2010, when it acquired Massachusetts-based flight information software company ITA software for $700 million. Flight search was initially launched in the US and then in parts of Europe.

In India, Google has been testing the waters for some time now. Previously online travel agents had planned to lodge a complaint with the Competition Commission of India against the tool. Subramanya Sharma, chief marketing officer of online travel agency Cleartrip, however, didn't seem to be worried about the potential impact of Google's tool on his business. "From what we know of the Indian market, this will have limited success as difference between ticket prices on an airline's website and an OTA is marginal," Sharma said. Moreover, airline websites are not optimised for mobile and that could lead to a "degradation of experience" for people using Google flight search to book directly on airline website, he added.