Wondering how a deal-finding tool like Skyscanner works? You’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of how Skyscanner works to find the best flight, hotel, and car rental deals, along with other frequently asked questions from curious travellers like you.
A good deal should be accessible to everyone. That’s why, at Skyscanner, we pull millions of flight options to help you snag the best travel deals. And the best part? You don’t need to be a savvy travel hacker to get them—Skyscanner does all the work for you. Wondering how to use Skyscanner, exactly? This post breaks it all down.
How does Skyscanner work, exactly?
How can I use Skyscanner for cheap flights?
What’s the Skyscanner ‘Explore Everywhere’ search?
What’s Skyscanner’s ‘Whole Month’ search?
How can I use Skyscanner to find hotel deals?
Can I book car rental deals with Skyscanner?
Can I use my frequent flyer points with Skyscanner?
Do flight prices change according to my search history?
How does Skyscanner make money?
1. How does Skyscanner work, exactly?
Basically, Skyscanner is a search engine that compares billions of options for flight deals, hotels, and car rentals for travellers worldwide. When you visit the Skyscanner website on desktop or open the app and search for a flight or other travel, Skyscanner pulls the most up-to-date prices so you can choose the best deal.
Skyscanner partners with airlines and travel agents that provide access to the latest prices for their products. As a third party, Skyscanner acts as an intermediary between the traveller (you) and the travel product you’re looking to buy. This is on top of the deal-finding/flight-deal-scouring technology developed since the Skyscanner site was launched in 2003.
2. How can I use Skyscanner for cheap flights?
You can start searching for travel deals by opening the Skyscanner website on your desktop or tablet or by downloading the Skyscanner app to your smartphone. If you’re looking for flight deals, you can simply type in your departure city, desired destination, and travel dates, as well as the number of travellers and cabin class. Then, click the ‘Search’ button and watch the best flight deals of the day appear on the next screen.
This is where your search for that perfect flight deal begins. On this flight page, you can sort results by best, cheapest, or fastest and filter by airline, airport, number of stops (layovers or a direct flight), and even flights with lower CO₂ emissions. Choose your desired filters and see the best flight deals that suit your needs. Then, select the flight you want and pick a provider, and you’ll be redirected to our partner site (airline or travel agent) where you can book your flight.
Don’t want to lose that flight deal? Set up a Price Alert and get notified when the price for your chosen route drops!
3. What’s the Skyscanner ‘Explore Everywhere’ search?
We’re travellers ourselves at Skyscanner, so we know that the road can always lead you to unknown destinations. So if you’re flexible with your travel planning, then the Explore Everywhere search tool is for you.
If you’re flexible with your final destination, type in your departure city, then set the destination to ‘Explore Everywhere.' The destinations that will appear on the next page will be in order of price from lowest to highest. It’s an ultimate travel hack and a great way to find the cheapest flight when you leave your options open.
4. What’s Skyscanner’s ‘Whole Month’ search?
Skyscanner’s ‘Whole Month’ search is another one of our deal-finding tools for flights. If you aren’t working with set dates for travel, then the Whole Month search simply scours flights for your desired route for the entire month. To use it, choose ‘Flexible dates’ in the date field and pick your month, or select ‘Cheapest month’ if you don’t mind when you go.
This way, you can choose your dates based on the cheapest flight price. It’s also a handy way to scan a month’s worth of flight prices and get familiar with pricing trends for any specific month.
You can use the Whole Month search on desktop, tablet, or on the go with the Skyscanner app.
5. How can I use Skyscanner to find hotel deals?
Just like our flight deal finder, you can use the Skyscanner app or website to search for hotel deals around the world. From a boutique hotel on Vancouver Island to a beachside hotel in southern Thailand, Skyscanner pulls the best hotel deals from our partners whenever you do a search. Pick your perfect accommodation by filtering by price, star rating, guest reviews, and free cancellation, and check the location using the handy map tool.
6. Can I book car rental deals with Skyscanner?
Yes, with Skyscanner, you can find and compare flight, hotel, and car rental deals in just a few clicks. Head to the website or app and browse top car rental deals worldwide.
Just enter the pickup location, pickup date, time, and return date, and the top car rental deals will appear on the next page for you to choose from. From there, you can filter by car type, transmission, free cancellation, and more, then complete your booking with the rental provider.
7. Can I use my frequent flyer points with Skyscanner?
Booking travel through Skyscanner also means that you won’t lose out on using your miles and points. Once you’re at the airline or travel agent’s booking page, you’ll be asked to enter your frequent flyer number. Because you’re booking directly with the airline or travel agent, you'll earn points under your loyalty program’s usual rules.
8. Do flight prices change according to my search history?
In this era of data and deal-finding, the question of cookies and your search history is one of the most frequently asked. But our answer is pretty simple—your travel search history won’t affect the prices that appear on your screen.
In other words, clearing your cookies or searching in incognito mode (whether you’re using the Skyscanner website or the app) doesn't help you get a cheaper flight. Skyscanner is unbiased, and the flight prices displayed are based on the current offerings of our travel partners.
9. How does Skyscanner make money?
Skyscanner is a free deal-finding tool for travellers. Whether you book a $1,000 return flight to your dream destination or a one-way trip to Toronto, we never take a cut or charge our customers any commission or fees.
We make money through our travel partners and advertisers. Depending on the agreement, we earn a commission for each booking made through us or for every time a traveller visits a partner’s website.
Start using Skyscanner today
Skyscanner does the hard work so you don’t have to. We pull prices from our travel partners into one search, then send you to the provider to book at no cost. If you’re flexible with your travel plans, the Explore Everywhere and Whole Month searches are the quickest way to see where your budget goes further. You can also set a Price Alert to track fares until you’re ready to book your dream getaway.
Frequently asked questions: How Skyscanner works
Skyscanner can help you find the best flight, hotel, and car rental deals for your next trip.
