Flight search engines have made travel incredibly easy in recent years. With a few keystrokes and clicks, we’re off to the races and we get an incredibly comprehensive list of flights that meet our criteria. What most people don’t know is that there’s a way to get even better and targeted search results to find that exact route you’re looking for or that mistake fare someone posts on Facebook.
Read more travel hacking
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How to get the best deals in travel
- Hottest deals – Bookmark the travel deals page.
- Car rentals – stop getting ripped off and learn about car rental coupon codes.
- Hotels – Use corporate codes or get Genius 2 tier with Booking.
- Flights – Have you ever heard of the “Everywhere” feature?
- Insurance – Make sure you’re covered and learn more about where to buy the best travel insurance.
What is ITA?
Before we begin, we should probably talk about what ITA is. ITA is essentially the core technology that powers every single flight search engine. Guys like Hipmunk essentially pay a fee to feed all search queries through ITA and when they receive the results, theme and format it to look like their own.
The big rumbling in the industry was a few years ago when Google acquired ITA, further cementing their position in anything related to search. That is how Google Flights was born.
Harnessing the Power of ITA Routing Language
As part of the platform that they’ve built, there are a lot of hidden “easter eggs” so to speak that give you unlimited searching power at your fingertips. These come in the form of ITA’s own routing language that is essentially short form that allow you to apply very specific filters.
At first glance, the language might as well look like Greek. And if you didn’t know how it worked, it might as well be. This ITA routing language (or routing codes) is a super short form to specify the exact flights you want.
Here is comprehensive list of ITA codes:
This is a helpful listing of examples:
What is not so clear from here is that when you type in your search, you separate the airport code with ITA routing codes by doing a double colon (::).
Routing Codes In Practice
Let’s try to learn the codes by using ITA’s own tool called ITA Matrix. This is a native tool built by ITA that allows you to search for flights in a much more raw kind of way. It’s not a tool I normally use as I much prefer Hipmunk but it is a very clutter-free interface that’s right to the point.
So let’s say you want to do a flight from Toronto to Los Angeles on Air Canada with a stopover in Denver, you’d type this in the Departing From field:
YYZ::X:DEN,AC+
Returning back from Los Angeles, let’s say I want to take any Star Alliance flight but direct only. I’d enter this into the
The beauty though is that these ITA
LAX::N:/alliance star-alliance
The final search in ITA Matrix looks like this:
The beauty of all this is that you can find some pretty unique routes using this method that other search engines like Kayak, Expedia and others just aren’t able to do without a lot of work. Leveraging your knowledge of these codes, you can turn into a serious travel hacker.
What you should read next
Travel Resources For Your Next Trip
If you’re in the process of planning your trip and putting together your itinerary, these are genuinely the best resources that the Going Awesome Places team stands by 100%.
Credit Cards
Don’t get burned by hidden fees on top of terrible exchange rates. When we travel now, we use the Wise Card. Simply load it with the currency you need before you go and use it as a regular VISA or their digital wallet card. Use their free app to track how much you have and top up when you need to.
Flights
In our opinion, of all the booking search engines, Skyscanner is the most helpful and easy to use thanks to their Everywhere feature. Kayak is also another that’s we will often check.
Car Rental
If you’re looking to save money, these car rental coupon codes will be a true game-changer. Otherwise, DiscoverCars and Booking’s car rental platform are great places to start.
Rideshare
You probably already have accounts but if you don’t, for new Lyft users, use code WILLIAM4825 to get 50% off your first 2 rides (max $10 per ride). Offer valid for 14 days after you take your first ride. For new Uber users, use code cbh4j6plxt8p for the same offer except it’s valid for 30 days.
Airport Parking
You’ll need a spot to leave your car at the airport so why not book a spot at a discount. Use code AWESOME7 to get at least $5 off at Airport Parking Reservations or Park Sleep Fly packages.
eSIM
eSIM: This is our go-to way of staying connected. Below are the discounts we have acquired for our readers.
- AmigoSIM – Use GOINGAWESOMEPLACES to save 25% off. Code is re-useable.
- Gigsky – Use TANG149 to get $3 USD when you sign up, then use code GOINGAWESOME to save 20% on all eSIM orders.
- Airalo – Use referral code WILLIA9500 to get $3 USD credit on your first purchase.
- KnowRoaming – Use code GAP10 to save 10%.
- AloSIM – Use code GOINGAWESOMEPLACES to save 15%.
- Ubigi – AWESOME10 to save 10% on your first order.
- Holafly – Use code GOINGAWESOMEPLACES to save 5%.
- Roamless – Use code AWESOME20 to save 20.
- Saily – Use code GAP15 to save 15%.
Make sure to read our article on breaking down the cheapest eSIMs for travel to learn more.
Wifi Hotspot
We’ve been a huge fan of wifi hotspot devices such as PokeFi (use code GAP24300) because their rates are are hard to beat and it works globally. Solis is another that we recommend. Pros are that you can share the wifi with your whole group but cons are that you have to invest in a device and you have to charge it every night.
Hotels
Our go-to is Booking.com because they have the best inventory of properties including hotels and B&Bs plus they have their Genius tier discounts. Expedia is also worth using especially with their One Key rewards program which is basically like cash. The exception is Asia where Agoda always has the best prices. Always do a quick check on TripAdvisor as well.
Tours and Activities
When planning our trips, we always check both Viator and GetYourGuide to at least see what’s out there in the destination that we’re going to. They often have different offerings and prices so check both.
Travel Insurance
Learn how to buy the best travel insurance for you. This isn’t something you want to travel without.
- HeyMondo – Popular insurance provider for frequent travelers and comes with great coverage and special perks. By booking through our link to get a 5% discount!
- RATESDOTCA – Search engine Canadians looking for the cheapest insurance including multi-trip annual policies.
- SafetyWing – A perfect fit for long-term nomads.
- Medjet – Global air medical transportation.
- InsureMyTrip – Best for seniors, families, and those with pre-existing conditions.
Check Out Our Toolbox
If you need more help planning your trip, make sure to check out our Travel Toolbox where we highlight all of the gear, resources, and tools we use when traveling.
This is great but this looks more like calculus to me. Hah Im definitely gonna look into this and learn it. Anything for cheap flights. Thanks for sharing!
OK you’re right this looks like Greek, but being a travel hacker myself I’ll definitely take another look at this next time I do a big trip! Thanks for sharing :-)
Thanks for dropping by Tamara! Let me know if you have luck finding good deals using this method.