In the past I’ve categorized Hipmunk as a really cool flight-finder that doesn’t actually work, as worse than Expedia, and as graphics without content.
So, I thought it would be only fair to tell you that I bought a flight the other day using Hipmunk and it gave me the same flight as Expedia but at a lower cost (by linking to something called CheapOair, which I hope is legit). So score one for Hipmunk.
I also found my best flight this weekend via Hipmunk, also via ChapOair. Similar flights were available on a couple of other aggregating sites, but the interface and design of Hipmunk definitely made it easier to compare the available options. Singular form of data is anecdote, etc, etc.
I used Cheapoair directly for a cross country flight with United Airlines. It seems perfectly legit to me. I had a connecting flight, so it was multiple tickets but they were regarded as part of the same flight (contrast this with some bargain seekers who purchase connecting flight tickets individually who are out of luck if they miss a flight or their connecting flight is canceled).
I had deal with a flight cancellation, United was very accommodating in giving me a new flight, and then the next day my new flight had a delay which would have lead to me missing my connecting flight and they gave me a new connecting flight.
So, at the very least using Cheapoair didn’t seem to shut me out of accommodations for cancellations and connecting flights, which is my main concern.
The really good searcher is routehappy.com. The point isn’t to get the cheapest fare (although they usually do find good fares), the point is to get you on a flight that won’t be horrible.
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