How to find cheaper summer flights using Google Flights, Skyscanner and AI tools
May 16, 2026
Summer airfares can rise fast, especially on popular leisure routes and around school holidays. With the cost of jet fuel spiking, flights could be pricier this summer. But travellers who compare and track airfares early, and those who use newer AI-powered search tools, can still find meaningful savings.
The key to finding the best flight deals is not relying on a single booking site.
Search tools like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Kayak each have different strengths. By using them together, you can find cheaper combinations, better airports, or more flexible dates.
Start with Google Flights
Google Flights can save you a lot of time and money when planning your travels. You can compare dates, search fares, and even discover new flights with AI-powered tools.
The newer “Flight Deals” feature on Google Flights allows users to search using natural language rather than rigid filters. When travelers type requests such as “week-long beach trip under £500” or “cheap nonstop city break from Manchester,” the system suggests destinations and fares that match.
The feature uses AI to interpret flexible requests and combine them with live flight pricing data from airlines and booking platforms.
Best Google Flights features for saving money
Google Flights helps you quickly find great deals on holiday flights.
Flexible date calendar
Use the calendar view to compare prices for an entire month instead of searching for a specific departure date. The cost of airfare can be significantly reduced during peak summer periods by flying even one or two days earlier.
Explore map
The Explore feature is particularly useful if the destination is flexible. Rather than searching for a specific city, travellers can enter a departure airport and browse the cheapest destinations worldwide.
Price tracking alerts
With Google Flights, users can track routes and receive notifications when fares change.
If you set alerts several months ahead, you’ll be able to find the lowest booking window before peak demand spikes during summer.
Multi-airport searches
Searching nearby airports can dramatically lower costs. A trip to London, for example, may be cheaper via Gatwick or Stansted than via Heathrow.
Budget travellers should also compare one-way tickets rather than traditional round-trip tickets, especially within Europe.
Skyscanner excels at flexibility
With its “everywhere” search, Skyscanner is a particularly useful search tool for flexible travellers.
Instead of choosing a destination first, travellers can search by month and discover the cheapest countries or cities available from their departure airport.
Skyscanner is also particularly good at surfacing low-cost carrier fares that may not appear as prominently elsewhere.
However, users should always double-check the fees before booking. Ultra-low fares can quickly become expensive once you add cabin bags, seat assignments, or airport check-in fees.
Kayak tools for comparing and predicting airfares
Kayak combines fare aggregation with forecasting tools that attempt to predict whether prices are likely to rise or fall.
Its price trend data can help travellers decide whether to book immediately or wait.
Kayak has also added conversational AI tools that allow travellers to search in natural language rather than with filters.
That makes it useful for broader trip planning, especially if you are flexible on destination or travel dates.
How AI tools are changing flight search
AI-powered travel search, using agents like Google Gemini or ChatGPT, could cut down the time you spend searching and offer greater flexibility. Instead of manually checking dozens of possible combinations, travellers can ask broader questions, such as:
- “Cheapest beach destinations from Norwich in August”
- “Best-value business class flights to Asia”
- “Warm destinations under £700 with nonstop flights”
The AI agent will search combinations that you may not have considered. The main caution is that AI can still make mistakes. AI search tools are improving quickly, but airfares change rapidly, and booking availability can disappear within minutes. It’s best to verify results through the airline’s website.
Other ways to save on summer flights
Here are some tried-and-true strategies to help you find better flight deals.
Book earlier for peak weeks
Flights around major school holidays, July weekends, and August departures typically rise earliest. For long-haul summer routes, booking several months in advance can be cheaper than waiting until the last minute. If you are flexible, it might be better to fly just before or just after the holiday peak.
If you have doubts about when to confirm a booking, let Kayak’s fare trends guide you or set up a fare alert with Skyscanner or Google Flights.
Fly midweek
Tuesday and Wednesday departures are frequently less expensive than Friday or weekend flights.
Avoid checked bags and fees when possible
Basic economy fares can seem very cheap, but could be more expensive after adding baggage and other fees. Compare the “cheap fare” plus fees with the standard fare on another carrier that includes all the services you will need.
Google Flights recently added improved filtering tools for excluding basic economy fares in some markets.
Compare airline websites directly
After finding a fare through a search tool, you may want to check the airline’s own website. Some carriers offer lower direct-booking prices or better change flexibility.
Consider multi-modal travel
If you depart from a larger hub rather than a smaller regional airport, you can save hundreds of dollars on long-haul flights. You may find cheaper intercontinental fares departing from airports such as London Heathrow Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, or Frankfurt Airport, rather than booking a flight departing from a smaller local airport.
If you live far from a major airport hub, compare the cost of taking the train there instead of the regional flight. Rome2Rio is a great tool for searching multi-modal travel options.
Why flexible travellers find the cheapest flights
No single flight search tool guarantees the cheapest airfare every time, and you should compare the results from at least a couple of tools before deciding.
- Use Google Flights for speed, date comparisons, and AI-powered discovery
- Use Skyscanner for flexible destination searches and low-cost carriers
- Use Kayak for forecasting and broader fare comparisons
- Use Rome2Rio to easily combine air, rail, ferry and other travel modes into your itinerary
Travellers who remain flexible on dates, airports, and destinations usually save the most — especially during the busy summer travel season.
