Airfare prediction company Hopper announced on Wednesday the addition of filters, to make the Hopper app a more useful tool for finding the best price for exactly the flight travelers want.
The filters are a major upgrade for the app, which previously based flight purchasing recommendations on price alone.
“The absolute cheapest flight is maybe not the right one for you,” Frederic Lalonde, Hopper’s CEO and founder, told Travel + Leisure. “The time to buy the cheapest nonstop is not the same time as when to buy the cheapest overall.”
After selecting an origin and destination, Hopper provides a calendar showing relative prices of flights. Users can select specific dates and “watch” trips to get alerts for when it’s time to buy.
In July, Hopper added additional recommendations for flights that might appeal to users based on their home airport and watched trips.
Users can now filter out long layovers, select nonstops only, or remove basic fares for trips they are watching in the app. Depending on the filters, the best time to buy a flight changes, and Lalonde says the alerts could make a big difference for travelers who prefer nonstop flights.
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“On average, nonstop flights are typically 20 percent more expensive than flights with stops,” he said. “But when you use the filters, you save at least 21 percent.”
Travelers looking for great deals on airfare have a number of tools to employ: Google Flights (GOOG) is great for an overview of fares and alerts, and Airfare Watchdog and The Flight Deal are great for flash sales.
This story was originally published on TravelandLeisure.com.
