What could be more frustrating than making it to the airport in time, just to know that your flight is running 8 hours behind schedule? That means lots of time wasted, a holiday plan disrupted and sometimes, an important meeting missed. Once again, we can expect Google to come to our rescue, this time with the technology of AI in its arsenal. Google Flights, the flight booking service by the search engine, has been enhanced with a new feature that will enable the passengers to get a heads-up before arriving at the airport. And most amazingly, the prediction of delays will come even before being officially flagged by the airlines themselves. The reason is that instead of getting information from the airlines, Google Flights will be leveraging historical data and applying machine learning algorithms to give predictions regarding delays.
Google explains that the update combines data with AI technologies to deliver predictions that are expected to be 80% accurate. Additionally, passengers will also get to know about the reason for the expected delay, which could be an aircraft arriving late or unfavorable weather. Tracking your flight status will be as simple as searching for your flight number, the airline name or the flight route you are taking. With this much information, the search results will show the expected delay. Of course, it would still be wise to reach the airport on time but you can certainly look for a Plan B in case of an emergency!
Besides this feature, the update also has a surprise for the thrifty flyer; it promises more transparency for the economy passengers by giving them information about on-board facilities such as seat selection, baggage fees, and overhead locker space. This means that travelers can make sense of all that is included (or excluded) in the Basic Economy fares. Prior to this update, another one that was added to Google Flights was that one that offered clearer information to the travelers on the timing of price hikes and airfare deals (and their expiry). Google also brought an app called Google Trips in 2016 to serve travelers as “a personalized tour guide in your pocket”.