google-flights

Google Flights Search

Search Google Flights via agent-browser to find flight prices, schedules, and availability.

Prerequisites

Requires agent-browser CLI:

npm install -g agent-browser && agent-browser install

When to Use

• User asks to search/find/compare flights or airfare
• User wants to know flight prices between cities
• User asks about flight schedules or availability
• User wants to find the cheapest flight for specific dates
• Southwest flights: Google Flights is one of the only sources for SW cash prices. No GDS or API returns Southwest.

When NOT to Use

• Completing purchases: This skill finds flights and extracts booking links, but do not attempt to complete a purchase on a booking site.
• Hotels/rental cars: Use other tools for non-flight travel searches.
• Historical price data: Google Flights shows current prices, not historical.

Session Convention

• Economy + Business comparison (default): --session econ and --session biz
• Single cabin search: --session flights
• Interactive fallback: --session flights

Fast Path: URL-Based Search (Preferred)

Construct a URL with a natural language ?q= parameter. Loads results directly. 3 commands total.

URL Template

https://www.google.com/travel/flights?q=Flights+from+{ORIGIN}+to+{DEST}+on+{DATE}[+returning+{DATE}][+one+way][+business+class][+N+passengers][&gl=XX]

Default: Economy + Business Comparison

Run two parallel sessions (economy and business) to show the price delta:

# Launch both in parallel
agent-browser --session econ open "https://www.google.com/travel/flights?q=Flights+from+BKK+to+NRT+on+2026-03-20+returning+2026-03-27" &
agent-browser --session biz open "https://www.google.com/travel/flights?q=Flights+from+BKK+to+NRT+on+2026-03-20+returning+2026-03-27+business+class" &
wait

# Wait for both to load
agent-browser --session econ wait --load networkidle &
agent-browser --session biz wait --load networkidle &
wait

# Snapshot both
agent-browser --session econ snapshot -i
agent-browser --session biz snapshot -i

# Close biz (only needed for delta column); keep econ alive for booking links
agent-browser --session biz close

One Way

Add +one+way to the URL:

agent-browser --session flights open "https://www.google.com/travel/flights?q=Flights+from+LAX+to+LHR+on+2026-04-15+one+way"
agent-browser --session flights wait --load networkidle
agent-browser --session flights snapshot -i

What Works via URL

Reading Results from Snapshot

Each flight appears as a link element with a full description:

link "From 20508 Thai baht round trip total. Nonstop flight with Air Japan.
     Leaves Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:10 AM on Friday, March 20 and arrives
     at Narita International Airport at 8:15 AM on Friday, March 20.
     Total duration 6 hr 5 min. Select flight"

Parse into a markdown table (see Output Format below).

Market Selection Strategy

Different country markets return different prices for the same route. Always try:

1. Departure country market first (&gl=US for flights from the US)
2. Destination country market (&gl=JP for flights to Japan)
3. Ask the user before trying additional markets

The &gl=XX parameter sets the market. Use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes.

Booking Options Handoff

After presenting results, offer booking links. When the user picks a flight:

agent-browser --session econ click @eN    # Click the flight's link
agent-browser --session econ wait 3000
agent-browser --session econ snapshot -i  # Shows booking providers with prices and URLs

Output Format

Always use markdown tables for flight results.

Economy + Business comparison (default)

Economy only

Format rules

• One row per flight
• For connections, show stop cities (e.g., "1 stop via ICN")
• No code blocks around the table
• After the table, highlight cheapest, fastest, and best value

Interactive Workflow (Fallback)

Use for multi-city, premium economy, or when the URL path fails. See the google-flights skill in ajimix/travel-hacking-toolkit for the full interactive reference with step-by-step commands for form filling, date pickers, and multi-city searches.

Key Rules

Troubleshooting

• Consent popups: Click "Accept all" or "Reject all" in the snapshot.
• URL fast path didn't work: Fall back to interactive.
• Bot detection / CAPTCHA: Inform user. Do NOT solve CAPTCHAs.