December 21, 2017
Air France
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Delta
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England
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flight review
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France
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How we did it
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London
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Paris
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Travel
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travel tips
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USA
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Virgin
We saved $50 with codeshares. You can, too.
We were planning an international trip and searched for flight options. I encountered a frustrating problem, but ultimately a few extra ...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-_J4vafQdwYEUgsTCsw2Rqm9cEf7SU-uIWxUFC-FLQiwwbvoonRqv3FZhs2FFCyTPJu7uVCBb34Pf9NRFJmwxJnWc3lnXPDTwWAWqoM64_SczE13ME38JWBe7MgcCq6wdu6ZvtJyp60/s200/IMG_4477.jpg)
We were planning an international trip and searched for flight options. I encountered a frustrating problem, but ultimately a few extra steps saved me $50 per ticket and even more in other cases.
We were looking to travel from New York to either London or Paris and then back from the opposite city. I started the search on Google Flights and found it was cheaper to go to London first then on to Paris.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWYCDewb4zvCur-WEnkXm-vG6A4cenGaH1PfDY5YrE9JWJq0GNf2Yi2ujL4zoJV4WOf4q7hDlxWSNE_cr4W3pTI2XFkIE2gDFg0duaV50b6t_v-nEfuTotZ0v3S0aSSnDtNOTHO_yqnw/s400/googleflights.png) |
Google Flights - $485 on Delta |
For the purposes of this example, I picked two random dates to showcase. Google Flights shows the trip could cost $435 around the Easter holiday, but after selecting the flights at this price it appears only available by calling Virgin Atlantic, which tacks on a surcharge for booking on the phone. Google then offers a click through to Delta for $485.
Instead I went to ITA Matrix, also a Google-owned platform, and inputed my same search parameters. It came back with many more flight options than Google Flights, including some departing from JFK instead of EWR.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJEgX5_2SJrduuOjDS_V3lWl-oo9yTCg-fY3pXvji7zvxDtnv8YvM4w2rp6jdD_g_7lP9dzmsQUIf269wM5NWEoMmfIIP4U3gqMjTKMHfMkk8r__K1esRTTIYQi6swz3FmkxmLHBEFRbk/s400/matrixoptions.png) |
$435 flights from EWR and JFK on ITA Matrix |
I selected the EWR option to keep things consistent. Notice for the return the same flight is listed as a Delta codeshare and not Air France as appeared on Google Flights.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNcsZkRVVnlOfpZw75wo1a7V86y0Y6o0DpeXNp4ZE7Y4ii9Wq1vqWTU6lTITloClQHKcuqBtYm5CPIkeiDufeq0596cwC1a2TGG7QQ4Y7D32JxbXGcFdeyLU5mecyEWwsgGWPnaKQi5E/s320/matrixfinal.png) |
Same itinerary as Google Flights |
You can’t book through the ITA Matrix, but you can sometimes use the data on
BookWithMatrix.com.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiF397id4zEKTTqEixdho2ZB8768Jff22j0qa1qb1yrJgjPGuOPqKFrjLwoVtY6omDwoQo_AUiBil2oE3N-gELhIIHTnREC5ZVQiJKAc0DYTjsNJjUzrPJibzF7lZmyDvpoUV1aOSEjs/s400/bwmsearch.png) |
Book with Matrix searching with ITA Matrix data |
It then sees the Delta codeshare and gives you the option to buy directly through Delta even though Delta doesn’t operate a single flight in this itinerary.
The end result…$434.46, $50 cheaper than Google Flights linked to for the same exact flights.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtg35px7_YoAtvnNZE7RaibydaV6YV1riJap0EjAMAZ5Q2mhXzxQ0JESMKsBt7N48OUZtnuJlFjpiP7sCEjcI-G42KbaJoA63R0UCZToAqFyVoAwK5fRKbe8NdPZ5_n57FxFyCZ56Lfg/s400/dlprice.png) |
Same flights on Delta.com, but $50 cheaper |
I find this works better with international travel than domestic since there are fewer domestic codesharing itineraries. I also found it works better with SkyTeam flights than with Oneworld. Good luck!