While the price tag for taking trips remains unstable, Kayak.com of Norwalk has launched several new tools to help consumers calculate the total cost of travel.
“Higher oil prices affect travelers at every stage of their journey,” said Drew Patterson, vice president of marketing at Kayak.com. “Airlines now levy fees on everything from blankets to baggage, making it difficult for travelers to budget their trip. Four-dollar-per-gallon gas prices make rental cars a far more expensive proposition. To help consumers make sense of these changes, Kayak.com has enhanced its air and rental car search results with fee calculators and tables to expose factors that might sway the user”™s ultimate choice.”
Kayak’s customers can now use the travel site”™s miles per gallon filter to take account of gas mileage when comparing the cost of renting a car, and factor in individual fees when exploring airfares.
“Whether travelers are trying to save on green or be green, Kayak.com”™s rental car search helps them make better decisions,” said Lincoln Jackson, director of product management at Kayak. “If you are traveling even a modest distance, the fuel cost calculator can be used to find the best bargain, which is sometimes a more expensive car class with higher gas mileage. Eco warriors will like Kayak.com”™s new filter for hybrid vehicles, which allows users to compare prices for hybrids only or compare the miles per gallon and price of hybrids alongside those of other car classes.”
According to the American Automobile Association, 40 percent of Americans altered their vacation plans this summer because of high gas prices.
Jackson said Kayak updates its content daily.
According to Kellie Pelletier, vice president of communications for Kayak, it was only two weeks after American Airlines announced its fee for checking bags that Kayak.com was able to launch a chart that details the fees airlines charge for checked bags, meals and snacks, pets, unaccompanied minors and even seat assignments.
Another addition recently applied to the site are the flight quality filters, enabling customers to exclude flights based on time of day, type of aircraft and even acceptable layover airports and duration.
