Google Flights Will Now Predict Airline Delays — Before the Airlines Do
Carly Zinderman March 10, 2018
Is there nothing that Google can’t do? Now Google Flights is even predicting airline delays before the airlines themselves announce it.
One of the biggest frustrations of air travel is encountering flight delays that can throw off your whole schedule. To make predictions Google is combing through historical data and other information to create algorithms that will predict the possibility of delays before the airlines themselves even know about them. The feature will also give the reason for the delay, whether it is related or a plane that hasn’t arrived.
The data will have to pass an 80% accuracy check before it is posted to the site for users to check out. It is still recommended that you get to the airport in a timely fashion. You can track your flight by entering your flight number or the airline and route that you are scheduled to take.
Google Flights has some other useful additions as well, including deciphering the new class of airfares referred to as Basic Economy. Budget travelers often book these fares but don’t realize that they come with a variety of restrictions that vary according to the airline. The Google feature will include all the restrictions and what they mean on airlines including American, United, and Delta.
The new tools are the latest additions to Google Flights. Earlier Google Flights began to add price tracking and deals as well as hotel search features. The new ability to predict airline delays may help alleviate some stress if you know what to expect once you arrive at the airport. And if they prove wrong, it will be a welcome discovery to find that you are departing on time.
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Not very reliable - Google had my flight last weekend marked as cancelled from the start of the day. It left on time in the evening.
They already do. In the sense that the airlines are slow on the draw, as far as communicating problems to the people on the front lines. Quite often, the customers will get a text about a delay, before the agents are told about it. And makes them certainly look stupid and clueless. Which is wrong. The agents need to know.