Tools I Use for Award Travel - Discovering Nonstop Routes - Part 1

Nowadays, you have many tools to help you discover which flight routes exist, enabling you to get from point A to B. I frequently search routes —it's how I derive much of the inspiration for my travels—so I figured it made sense to explore two of my favorite tools for figuring out how to get from one place to another. Ok, Let's jump into it.

Discovering Routes and Figuring out How to Get from Point A -> B

My two favorite tools for discovering potential destinations and flight paths are Google Flights and FlightConnections. 

Google Flights

Google Flights is a popular, well-rounded tool for searching and pricing out almost any flight itinerary. I spend most of my time using the Google Flights Explore (GFE) feature. As I'm no stranger to building multi-leg itineraries, GFE's map view is my favorite way to conduct open-ended searches and quickly ascertain where I can travel on nonstop legs. A few years back, GFE came in the clutch when I planned a six-week-island-hopping honeymoon from southeast Asia to (and through) the South Pacific. Here's an example of a typical search I might run:

Let's say I plan to position in Perth, Australia (PER), and from there, the world is my oyster. I want to know 1) where I can fly to and 2) what potential destinations can be reached in business class. I'll enter Perth as my origin, select 'One Way' and 'Business' as additional search criteria, and then filter the results for 'Nonstop' flights and 'Flight only' travel mode.

The map populates with tons of interesting destinations, though the route that catches my attention is Johannesburg, South Africa. Perhaps I can enjoy some wine in the Western Cape and then make my way to Swartland via Johannesburg?

Upon selecting a destination (in this case, Johannesburg), you can click through to Google Flights to price out rates on specific dates. Keep this in mind as we explore the following tool.

FlightConnections

FlightConnections (FC) enables users to "search, find and compare any flight path or airline route on interactive maps." Its tagline boasts 'All flights worldwide on a map,' and you can scour the results of direct flights from more than 900 airlines via map view. When I first learned of FC, I was turned off because its interface was underwhelming, so I wasn't excited about using the tool. Over the years, I've noticed improvements in its site design and search algorithms, and I'm a fan. I've repeatedly put FC up against GFE and consistently found FlightConnections to provide more robust results. Don't believe me? Let's go to the tape:

We dig deep when we put tools to the test here at You Are Travel. Any tool can populate all the flight results from New York to Paris, but can I trust your tool to show me my options for getting off a sparsely populated island in the middle of the South Pacific? Below, you'll find the side-by-side comparison of FC and the GFE feature set to show direct flight options from Wallis Island (WLS). 

If I left it to Google, I'd be walking around disrespecting the good people of Wallis, Futuna, and Aircalin, saying you can only fly in and out of this place via Fiji once a week. FlightConnections proudly barks 'BALL UP TOP' and indicates I can also hop on direct flights to New Caledonia and (sensibly) Futuna. While there's a ton of overlap, I consistently see more robust results (and, as a result, discovered airlines I'd never heard of - hello, Nauru Air) via FC. If there were a place where Google Flights has the edge, it'd be pricing out the flights you find. As referenced above, when you click on a destination from GFE, you're taken right to standard Google Flights to see pricing based on fixed dates. On the other hand, FC gates to Kayak, which, unfortunately, in some cases, falls apart. 

However, this is fine as I'm usually just searching interactive flight maps to confirm a nonstop route exists (instead of clicking through to purchase). More often than not, once I've confirmed a route exists, I'll search for award availability using a different tool. More on that in Part 2!