I'm in the process of trying to book a city break for the end of February as a bit of a belated Valentine's Day getaway when the extortionate prices have gone back down a little! For some reason whenever I try to do anything impulsive like this it always transforms into a complicated and lengthy process which normally involves me getting so annoyed I decide I don't want to go away anymore and give up!

While searching last week for suitable flights I came across a little gem of a website which basically allows you to compare flights from numerous operators in a couple of simple steps. Sky Scanner is advertised as being a flight search site which was started in 2003 by three founders. They are a small but growing company, currently based in Edinburgh, with the aim to become the number one online resource for flight information.

The Homepage

The homepage itself has a white background and is quite bland really. The various languages the site can be displayed in are shown in the top right hand corner and below these are the website's name and logo. There is then a box that allows you to "Browse for Cheap Flights" and below this another box which lets you "Search for Cheap Flights." Towards the bottom of the page is a box containing any "Site News" and below this are various links that you find on the majority of websites including "About Us," "Contact Us" and "FAQs."

Overall then the homepage serves its purpose by providing an insight into what the site actually offers without overloading you with useless information. The white background and plenty of empty white space gives an uncluttered appeal to the site. A bit of colour might make it slightly more eye catching but in effect the homepage serves its purpose quite well.

Browse for Cheap Flights

If you're not sure where you want to go or what it is you're looking for this option is probably for you. It allows you to search for all cheap flights from a certain airport or to a certain airport. For example you can click on "Manchester" and it will show you a list of destination countries and the airline currently offering the cheapest price and also what the price is. If you know where you want to go but are quite flexible with what airport you can fly from then you should try the "Flights to" option which works in the same way.

There's also a further option that offers you "Suggestions" which include a weekend break, 1 week break, etc. and by clicking on one of these you'll be taken to a new page showing a list of departure dates. Simply click on one of the dates, then your destination country and you'll be shown the relevant prices for that weekend you've selected. Once you've decided on your choice simply click on it to see the relevant flight departure and arrival times and you can then be transferred to the relevant company site to book your flight.

Search for Cheap Flights

This works in a similar way as the above although allows you to input a definite departure airport and destination as well as the exact dates you'd like to travel on. When you select a country you can also choose which city or region you'd like to visit and the site will then provide the results for the closest airport. Once you've inputted all your information simply select "Search" to find your cheap flight.

The results are displayed in a similar way to the above with the cheapest airline being at the top of the list. To get further information simply choose the relevant airline and you'll be taken to a new page detailing flights times, etc. To book you then follow the same process as above and get transferred to the relevant airline homepage to confirm your booking.

Airlines

There seems to be a growing number of airlines which sponsor this site to include their offers and prices in the results listing. At present this list include Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Air Southwest, Atlas Blue, BMI, BMI Baby, British Airways, EasyJet, FlyBe, Jet2, Ryan Air, Sky Europe Airlines, Thomson Fly, VLM and Wizz Air.

My Opinion

I've used this site quite a few times over the past week while searching for a suitable mini break and have found it makes the searching process so much easier. The only problem is that certain sites such as Easy Jet and Ryan Air add on a lot of extras such as luggage costs, taxes, etc. and these aren't included in the price you see on Sky Scanner. It's really simply to use and I got the hang of it within minutes. I've found the information is always up to date, if you find a flight you want and get transfered to the airline site you'll always find the price to be the same as on Sky Scanner.

I normally spend about half an hour searching through various sites but here you conduct a simple search and be presented with suitable flights from numerous different companies in just seconds. The site is really quick to load and presents results in about 5 seconds which is great! I'll certainly be using this site again and would recommend it to anyone, especially as it continues to expand.

Thanks for reading!