Travel-hacking-toolkit google-flights

Search Google Flights for flight prices and schedules using browser automation. Use when user asks to search flights, find airfare, compare prices, check flight availability, or look up routes. Covers ALL airlines including Southwest (which no API can reach). Triggers include "search flights", "find flights", "how much is a flight", "flights from X to Y", "cheapest flight", "flight prices", "airfare", "flight schedule", "nonstop flights", "when should I fly".

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/google-flights" ~/.claude/skills/borski-travel-hacking-toolkit-google-flights && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/google-flights/SKILL.md

source content

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

Feature	URL syntax	Status
Round trip	`+returning+YYYY-MM-DD`	Works
One way	`+one+way`	Works
Business class	`+business+class`	Works
First class	`+first+class`	Works
N passengers	`+N+passengers`	Works
Adults + children	`+2+adults+1+child`	Works
IATA codes	`BKK` , `NRT` , `LAX`	Works
City names	`Bangkok` , `Tokyo`	Works
Dates as YYYY-MM-DD	`2026-03-20`	Works (best)
Market/locale	`&gl=TH` (country code)	Works
Premium economy	`+premium+economy`	Fails
Multi-city	N/A	Fails

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:

Departure country market first (
```
&gl=US
```
for flights from the US)
Destination country market (
```
&gl=JP
```
for flights to Japan)
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)

#	Airline	Stops	Duration	Depart	Arrive	Economy	Business	Delta
1	JAL	Nonstop	5h 55m	8:05 AM	4:00 PM	$523	$1,490	+185%
2	THAI	Nonstop	5h 50m	10:30 PM	6:20 AM+1	$628	$1,675	+166%

Economy only

#	Airline	Stops	Duration	Depart	Arrive	Price
1	JAL	Nonstop	5h 55m	8:05 AM	4:00 PM	$523

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

Rule	Why
Prefer URL fast path	3 commands vs 15+ interactive
`wait --load networkidle`	Smarter than fixed `wait 5000`
Use `fill` not `type` for airports	Clears existing text first
Wait 2s after typing airport codes	Autocomplete needs API roundtrip
Always CLICK suggestions, never Enter	Enter is unreliable for autocomplete
Re-snapshot after every interaction	DOM changes invalidate refs
Keep results session alive for booking links	Close biz session after capturing delta

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.