The best flight search tool you've never heard of

Name: Budget Travel LLC
Price range: $

By Nina Willdorf

October 3, 2012

It should come as no surprise that I'm a bit of an obsessive when it comes to searching for flights online. This is my job, after all, and I pursue flight search with the same fervor that I seek out a sweet sample sale deal.

My secret tool, however, is now out for public consumption, and I guess I consider it my responsibility to share it with the world.

Meet ITASoftware.com. If you can remember the clunky URL, you will be happy. ITA Software, which was recently acquired by Google for a cool $700 million in cash, is a travel data clearinghouse that supplies everyone from Bing to Orbitz to Kayak with all of their flight info. That's right. Most search engines pull the same information; they just slice it and deliver it in different ways.

ITA Software isn't new; it was founded in 1996 by MIT computer scientists. But the owners have given it a face lift that makes it more palatable for public consumption. While it used to look like it was built, in fact, in 1996, the site has been upgraded and streamlined, with one of those handy matrices that lays out all the options. They've even created something I've never seen before: a sideways chart detailing flight options by time, using color-coded time bars. Their new free, 4-star app, "OntheFly" makes detailed search totally doable via an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.

Neither the site nor the app allows for booking. It just gives you all the tools at your fingertips, and lets you customize search as you see fit, and you can be sure you're seeing everything that exists. Where you choose to book your preferred flight combo—via the airline directly or an OTA (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Kayak)—is entirely up to you.

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Inspiration

San Francisco: 4 indie bookstores worth a visit

I once heard a statistic that San Franciscans buy more books per capita than any other major metropolitan area in the U.S. (it was paired with a stat that said we also drink more wine than any other city, but that's a discussion for another time). Moreover, San Francisco is a hotbed of social literary events, and many literary heavy lifters—Jack Kerouac, Amy Tan, Danielle Steele, Dave Eggers—have made their home here. So it's not surprising that this city is home to an impressive number of indie bookstores. These neighborhood stores manage not just to survive but to thrive in the age of Amazon, Kindles, and iPads (not to mention a wicked recession). Four of these bookstores are worthy stops for your next visit: City Lights Considered by some to be the ground zero of the beat movement, City Lights was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin. The eponymous publishing company produced works by Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, and more. Grab a book of poetry and take it across Jack Kerouac alley to Cafe Vesuvio, a regular beat hangout back in the day, for the quintessential Beat Generation experience. 415/362-8193, 261 Columbus Ave., open daily 10 a.m.-midnight. 826 Valencia Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun and A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius, founded 826 Valencia, a volunteer tutoring center, in 2002. The front of the store is a Pirate Supply Store that sells everything from messages in bottles ($12) and Mermaid bait or repellant ($4) to posters and publications put out by Eggers' publishing company, McSweeney's. Pick up the latest copy of the McSweeney's Quarterly Concern or a back copy of Might magazine, which Eggers founded in the early '90s. 415/642-5905,826 Valencia Street, open daily noon-6 p.m. Modern Times Down the street from 826 Valencia is Modern Times. This store stands out for its selection of books on radical lefty politics, gender and sexuality, and a number of 'zines and graphic novels. They also have a great section dedicated to Latino topics, including children's books in Spanish. While you're there, grab a "Reading is Sexy" T-shirt as a souvenir. 415/282-9246, 888 Valencia Street, Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Green Apple Founded in 1967, Green Apple Books has perhaps the largest selection of used books in the entire city. The 8,000-square-foot space has the worn-in feeling of a much-loved bookstore that invites you to spend hours browsing the shelves. Green Apple also hosts lots of events and author signings. 415/387-2272506, Clement Street at 6th Avenue), Sunday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Think you know San Francisco? Test yourself with our trivia quiz.

Inspiration

Ohio: World's Bravest and Finest face off in weeklong competition

Starting this weekend, 750-plus of the world's most fearless police officers and firefighters will gather in Dublin, Ohio, a northwestern suburb of Columbus, to duke it out in the 2010 Can-Am Police-Fire Games. The international Olympics-style competition, held every two years, pits public safety personnel against one another in 58 sporting contests to promote fitness and camaraderie. This year's event, which runs August 15 to 22, will host competitors from 38 different states and provinces and nine countries. Why you should go: All the events are free and open to the public, and include the grueling, can't-take-your-eyes-away Toughest Firefighter Alive and Toughest Competitor Alive multievent contests, the amazing and widely entertaining K9 service dog competition, and the classic crowd-pleaser, tug-of-war. The Games kick off on Sunday with the Opening Ceremonies from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Dublin's Coffman Park, complete with bagpipe music, a color guard, and welcoming remarks from Dublin's mayor. Activities include inflatables for kids, a concert by oldies band Phil Dirt and the Dozers, a K9 demonstration, and all kinds of emergency vehicles—including helicopters—on display, plus food and drink. And after the week of sporting events, closing out the final night of activities is the Badge Bash on Saturday, August 21, at 4 p.m., with food, beverages, entertainment, and raffles in Coffman Park. The event isn't free, but the $10 admission fee supports local police/fire charity Get Behind the Badge (ages 17 and under get in free). Live music includes several pipes and drum bands (make sure you're there at 8:30, when all the bands will get on stage and play together—about 50 bagpipes at once!), and then rock-and-roll cover band Tazer will take over from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. (fittingly enough, one of the raffle prizes is a civilian taser). Various Dublin hotels are offering special rates for the Can-Am Police-Fire Games. For more information about what to do in Dublin, visit the city's convention and visitors bureau website.

The end of the lapchild?

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all passengers -- kids under the age of 2 included -- have their own seats on planes. That'd mean infants would no longer be allowed to sit in their parents laps, and they would no longer fly for free. The NTSB released its official recommendation to FAA earlier this week, listing numerous occasions when airplane passenger injuries and fatalities could have been minimized by the use of restraint devices (i.e. seatbelts). Oddly enough, many of the examples listed involve passengers over the age of 2, who would not qualify as lapchildren. This is not the first time the NTSB has made such a recommendation to the FAA, yet, as the New York Times noted, the FAA: has rejected the recommendation several times, saying that parents unable to afford tickets for their young children would opt to drive rather than fly, resulting in more highway fatalities. What do you think? For the safety of everyone, should the lapchild be banned? Should parents be required to buy seats for infants and toddlers, and secure them either in car seats (which often don't fit in a cramped plane), or in an over-the-shoulder CARES restraint device (which are designed for kids weighing 22 to 44 pounds)? Should the airlines be forced to make some provisions for the safety of kids, perhaps even by offering special seatbelts for tiny travelers?

Your blog editor says good-bye

For the past three-and-a-half years, I've been lucky enough to be an editor at Budget Travel. But today is my last day. The right time to quit the best job in the world is when it still feels like it's the best job in the world. I'm moving to London, and I'll continue to contribute from there. But I'll miss our online conversation here. You've posted more than 25,000 comments. Some of my favorites have been by Iolaire and the late Tom Buqo. Your comments sparked e-mail exchanges that led to full articles, such as Toni's (always relevant) piece on how to annoy a flight attendant. Thanks to the blogosphere for having welcomed us, too. According to Technorati, this is one of the top ten most linked-to travel blogs. None of us can travel as much as we'd like, but if we share tips on this site, all of us can make the most of our vacations. So please keep commenting and sharing your insights! In that spirit, let me pass along a tip. I visited the Empire State Building last week and I have to say: If you haven't been there in more than a couple of years, you ought to consider stopping by. When I last visited many years ago, there was a 90-minute wait to get to the first elevators—much of the wait spent outside in the steamy weather. This time, there was only a 20-minute wait, and all of it was inside an air-conditioned lobby that's been expanded to handle larger crowds. Officials say they've cut wait-times dramatically despite having record attendance this summer. While you wait for the elevators, there's more to see and enjoy in the lobby than before. As part of the skyscraper's half-billion dollar renovation, the symmetrically-patterned marble, art deco murals, and antique chandeliers are now on display in their full, 1930s-worthy grandeur. The view at the top remains as spectacular as ever, especially at night. (The last elevator ascends at 1 a.m. daily. Daily entrance hours begin at 8 a.m. esbnyc.com. admission: adults $20, ages 12–17 $18, and children $14.) The new blog editor will say hello soon. In the meantime, enjoy the end of the summer, and thanks for reading! Cheers, Sean O'

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