For some reason Hipmonk isn't finding the $179 United flights. That $179 includes taxes and fees.
In addition, Hipmonk's flexible search is far more limited than Kayak's. Hipmonk allows +2 days for a total of 3 possible. Kayak searches +/- 3 days, for a total of 7. Also Kayak has the "nearby airports" feature which often drops the price even further (Louisville is $149) - especially in the Bay Area where SFO and OAK are both a bart ride away.
> Hipmonk allows +2 days for a total of 3 possible. Kayak searches +/- 3 days, for a total of 7.
Actually you can change that text field to say "+-3". We're both using the same feature of our mutual data provider ITA. And if you search for the same day this way, you get the same fares on both sites.
> Also Kayak has the "nearby airports" feature which often drops the price even further (Louisville is $149) - especially in the Bay Area where SFO and OAK are both a bart ride away
We do that automatically when you give us a city name (like "San Francisco" vs "SFO"). You can also just add comma-separated airports if you know the codes.
I don't pretend our UI exposes these the best, but we really are getting the same data from the same companies.
Actually you can change that text field to say "+-3".
Wow, that is a totally hidden feature. Even worse, if you click the + button, it tops out at +2 and then greys out. Same with the - button and -2. My offhand suggestion is 3 buttons: plus adds days after, minus adds days before, and a third that resets to day-of only.
We do that automatically when you give us a city name (like "San Francisco" vs "SFO").
Also a completely hidden feature. You can probably help mitigate that by putting "San Francisco, CA (and nearby airports)" in the dropdown list.
You're alienating all of the flexible-dates travelers right on the first page... seems like you might get a lot of immediate result out of just fixing these usability issues.
I notice the missing $179 United fare now shows up. What was up with that? Bug?
FWIW, now that I know how this works (and assuming the price issues are taken care of), I will use himpunk for my next flight.
Hipmonk, $245: https://img.skitch.com/20120613-8rregkqr2exgrcppt87j8hggy8.j...
Kayak, $179: https://img.skitch.com/20120613-gjy1r3as42atrp3ack1m24eyc8.j...
For some reason Hipmonk isn't finding the $179 United flights. That $179 includes taxes and fees.
In addition, Hipmonk's flexible search is far more limited than Kayak's. Hipmonk allows +2 days for a total of 3 possible. Kayak searches +/- 3 days, for a total of 7. Also Kayak has the "nearby airports" feature which often drops the price even further (Louisville is $149) - especially in the Bay Area where SFO and OAK are both a bart ride away.