5 ms·

I think they want to shutdown the matrix[1]. They already discontinued the matrix smartphone app a year back. I will be truly lost (quite literally) once matri

by 4ad 9y ago

I think they want to shutdown the matrix[1]. They already discontinued the matrix smartphone app a year back. I will be truly lost (quite literally) once matrix is unavailable. I plan out very complex trips and only the matrix can do it. [1] https://matrix.itasoftware.com https://matrix.itasoftware.com

nathancahill 9y ago
I really hope not. I'm in the same boat (plane?) as you.
pinko 9y ago
Likewise. I would gladly pay to continue using Matrix. I can't imagine planning flights without it.
foota 9y ago
Try kiwi.com? It's not as good I'm, but is fairly full featured. You can also use a spreadsheet to generate search urls for Google flights.
- nathancahill 9y ago
  The features I most need are: routing options, fare class codes and multi-month fare calendars. Only Matrix has all 3 as far as I know. Often, when I call the airline to book a great itinerary I found on Matrix, the airline won't believe the time/price. I'll have to convince them to trust me and make an itinerary from the flight numbers. It's often faster and cheaper than anything on the airline's websites.
  - lavezzi 9y ago
    you've probably seen it already but bookwithmatrix.com is also very useful to get pricing based on ITA fare quotes.
rb808 9y ago
I've seen that before but didn't keep it - What's the difference between that and regular google flights?
- jpatokal 9y ago
  The power user interface, which lets you specify all sorts of wacky constraints any other OTA can't handle. https://travelcodex.com/advanced-routing-language-in-ita/ https://travelcodex.com/advanced-routing-language-in-ita/
  - rb808 9y ago
    Thanks. Looks like google flights can do most of it but with gui elements. The one thing it doesn't do which I really like is to be able to specify a layover of 1-2 days, ita does it which is great. (OK I guess I can do it with multi city, but it isn't like the old days where layovers were sometimes a feature not something to be avoided)
    - chch 9y ago
      To quote myself from a year ago (although Delta and Alaska aren't partners anymore) [3]: One of the features I like to use a lot is the ability to specify fare classes. As an example, say I want to fly to Tokyo, and I am an Alaska Airlines mileage plan member. Alaska Airlines does not fly to Tokyo, but it has deals with airlines that do. However, sometimes the fare classes are quite complicated. For instance, "Economy" is broken down into many buckets, and not all are created equal. For instance, Delta has at least 13 buckets for Economy, and each 'fare class' awards different amounts of mileage to Alaska flyers [1]: E: 25% Mileage L, U, T, X, V: 50% Mileage H, Q, K: 75% B, M, S: 100% Mileage Y: 125% Mileage If you search on Google Flights, these will all be called "Economy". If you search on most of the other OTA's (Online Travel Agents), you can sometimes find the fare class during checkout or even as part of your search results, but you can't filter on it (Hipmunk is one that does support some of ITA's syntax for these filters, but not all). The buckets aren't always strictly more/less expensive, but they're usually not exposed very easily, if at all[2]. So, you're often left crawling from listing to listing, expanding to see if they are going to get you any miles. (I'll save the debate of whether miles are worth all the effort for another day.) On ITA, it's not unreasonable to construct a query that says "During the month of November, show me round trips that are between 12 and 19 days that are going from Denver to either Narita or Haneda Airports, which will earn me more than 50% miles on either Delta or American or JAL, but also only ones that connect in Portland or Los Angeles, with no prop planes or overnight stops, and no <50 minute connections or 3+ hour connections". (I wouldn't actually specify all of these stipulations, but they're good for the example! :) ) [1] https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners/delta-airlines https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-m... [2] Delta, to its credit, does allow you to search by minimum fair class on its advanced search) [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12740701 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12740701
pishpash 9y ago
Or it will be like Google Voice, on CPR for years, then resuscitated. You just never know.

by 4ad 9y ago

nathancahill 9y ago

I really hope not. I'm in the same boat (plane?) as you.

pinko 9y ago

Likewise. I would gladly pay to continue using Matrix. I can't imagine planning flights without it.

foota 9y ago

Try kiwi.com? It's not as good I'm, but is fairly full featured. You can also use a spreadsheet to generate search urls for Google flights.

nathancahill 9y ago
The features I most need are: routing options, fare class codes and multi-month fare calendars. Only Matrix has all 3 as far as I know. Often, when I call the airline to book a great itinerary I found on Matrix, the airline won't believe the time/price. I'll have to convince them to trust me and make an itinerary from the flight numbers. It's often faster and cheaper than anything on the airline's websites.
- lavezzi 9y ago
  you've probably seen it already but bookwithmatrix.com is also very useful to get pricing based on ITA fare quotes.

rb808 9y ago

I've seen that before but didn't keep it - What's the difference between that and regular google flights?

jpatokal 9y ago
The power user interface, which lets you specify all sorts of wacky constraints any other OTA can't handle. https://travelcodex.com/advanced-routing-language-in-ita/ https://travelcodex.com/advanced-routing-language-in-ita/
- rb808 9y ago
  Thanks. Looks like google flights can do most of it but with gui elements. The one thing it doesn't do which I really like is to be able to specify a layover of 1-2 days, ita does it which is great. (OK I guess I can do it with multi city, but it isn't like the old days where layovers were sometimes a feature not something to be avoided)
  - chch 9y ago
    To quote myself from a year ago (although Delta and Alaska aren't partners anymore) [3]: One of the features I like to use a lot is the ability to specify fare classes. As an example, say I want to fly to Tokyo, and I am an Alaska Airlines mileage plan member. Alaska Airlines does not fly to Tokyo, but it has deals with airlines that do. However, sometimes the fare classes are quite complicated. For instance, "Economy" is broken down into many buckets, and not all are created equal. For instance, Delta has at least 13 buckets for Economy, and each 'fare class' awards different amounts of mileage to Alaska flyers [1]: E: 25% Mileage L, U, T, X, V: 50% Mileage H, Q, K: 75% B, M, S: 100% Mileage Y: 125% Mileage If you search on Google Flights, these will all be called "Economy". If you search on most of the other OTA's (Online Travel Agents), you can sometimes find the fare class during checkout or even as part of your search results, but you can't filter on it (Hipmunk is one that does support some of ITA's syntax for these filters, but not all). The buckets aren't always strictly more/less expensive, but they're usually not exposed very easily, if at all[2]. So, you're often left crawling from listing to listing, expanding to see if they are going to get you any miles. (I'll save the debate of whether miles are worth all the effort for another day.) On ITA, it's not unreasonable to construct a query that says "During the month of November, show me round trips that are between 12 and 19 days that are going from Denver to either Narita or Haneda Airports, which will earn me more than 50% miles on either Delta or American or JAL, but also only ones that connect in Portland or Los Angeles, with no prop planes or overnight stops, and no <50 minute connections or 3+ hour connections". (I wouldn't actually specify all of these stipulations, but they're good for the example! :) ) [1] https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners/delta-airlines https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-m... [2] Delta, to its credit, does allow you to search by minimum fair class on its advanced search) [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12740701 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12740701

pishpash 9y ago

Or it will be like Google Voice, on CPR for years, then resuscitated. You just never know.