[joecot]

I greatly miss Hipmunk, and would really like a successor. But I'm confused as to why this needs to be a browser extension instead of just a website. Even if you provide extra features as an extension, show comparisons if I'm flight sites, etc, I'd still like to just have a website I can go to to search flights, not requiring a browser extension to use.

[maxmorlocke]

The short answer is because certain airlines behave in ways I can best describe as 'scummy'. Some airlines are now demanding anti-consumer provisions when they do deals with travel sites, such as insisting that sites hide cheaper flights, hide multi-airline itineraries, and hide certain booking options. We think this compromises the user experience heavily and erodes trust - you don't know if you're getting the best possible flight. Being a browser extension gives us the ability to show the lowest fares without going through airline servers or airline contracts, since we can search and compile all the data from your browser.

[nomercy400]

If the travel sites hide the cheapest flights to users, then where does your extension 'scrape' its data from.

Is this more like a crowd-sourced data gathering, where every extension user gathers data for you?

[carlivar]

They don't hide the cheapest flights to direct users. They hide them from aggregators (like Kayak).

[giarc]

From the description "Being a browser extension gives us the ability to show the lowest fares without going through airline servers or airline contracts, since we can search and compile all the data from your browser."