Read this article in:
The ITA Matrix is probably the most powerful flight search tool. While much of the functionality has now been integrated into Google Flights, the Matrix still has a raison d’être. After all, no other tool offers so many functions for searching and filtering connections. However, the learning curve of the matrix is steep, which is why Travel-Dealz has a two-part guide (Part 1 / Part 2) for the tool.
Nevertheless, even the experienced user will sooner or later encounter a hurdle: The matrix (unlike Google Flights) does not offer the possibility of directly booking the tickets. This is a problem, especially with complex bookings, because they cannot always be put together directly on the airline’s website.
Luckily, there is a browser extension that can help. We are talking about the ITA Matrix Powertools. With them, the matrix becomes even more powerful. The most important point, however, is that you can often book connections that cannot be found at the airline or other third-party providers.
To use the power tools, they must first be installed in your browser. It works easiest with Firefox, Chrome, Edge or Opera because they are available there as a separate browser extension:
For all other browsers (e.g. Safari) it is possible to install the power tools as a user script. To do this, you first need a browser extension to manage Javascript user scripts. Tampermonkey or Violentmonkey, for instance, are popular. Afterwards, you can call up the following Greasyfork link and the installation should be offered automatically:
The Powertools work with both the old and the new version of the ITA Matrix. Although the old version works a little better, it will probably be switched off soon. A specific date is not yet known, but it will apparently be by the end of 2024.
You can read below how to use the power tools to book flights. The screenshots are from the new ITA Matrix, but the whole thing also works analogously in the old version:
Example: You are looking for a ticket to Chicago. Now you could simply book a non-stop flight, but that would be a bit too boring for you. So you decide to do a mini stopover (less than 24 hours) in Boston. You also found a promising connection on Google Flights:
The problem here: British Airways doesn’t offer that price on its website, and the redirect from Google to American Airlines’ website produces an error message:
Instead, you can now use the matrix to search for the desired connection. It looks something like this:
In this case, I filtered for the desired flight number AA2877 from Boston to Chicago to narrow down the results directly. In general, the more filters you set when searching, the faster and more reliable the search via the matrix works.
I will not go further into the possibilities of the matrix in the article. Instead, take a look at the following articles:
The next step takes you to the search results. The matrix displays a lower price than reality, but other than that everything looks good:
Now comes the crucial step. Thanks to the power tools, you will find various links to book the flights in the sidebar on the right. You can choose between American Airlines (Europe & USA), British Airways, and Iberia, as well as many other OTAs and meta-search engines:
In this case, only American Airlines’ European site works reliably, the other airline sites spit out an error or a higher price. Let’s click on Use American . And there you have it, the exact same itinerary we had on Google Flights for the exact same price:
Important to know: Not all the numerous links that you can find in the Powertools sidebar work. So far, I’ve mainly used the following:
From my point of view, the direct booking links are by far the most useful functionality of the power tools. There are also a number of additional functions.
The Use Where to Credit button takes you directly to the result of the mileage calculator on wheretocredit.com:
Incidentally, the power tools are developed by the same provider as wheretocredit.
The matrix shows you the last searches made at the top, but the list is very short. Thanks to power tools, you will find a much more detailed search history in the left sidebar. Simply click on a connection there, and the data will then be transferred to the search mask. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work and often only works with the second click. Still very useful!
So far, this function is only available in the old version of the matrix on oldmatrix.itasoftware.com. However, this version will be switched off in the near future.
With all the taxes & surcharges, the price is made up of a complex combination of charges. The sum of the pure flight price + fuel surcharge is relevant for the mileage credit. With the help of the power tools, you only have to add up two amounts (instead of three, four or five):
However, this feature has not yet made it into the new matrix either.
The search results will show you directly how many cents you have to pay per mile flown. In this case, it is around 4.9 cents per mile flown. Not a bad price:
This function is also only available in the old version of the matrix.
How often in the past have I encountered connections in the matrix that could not be booked anywhere? Luckily, I eventually discovered the power tools. They are by no means perfect, but they make working with the matrix much easier. Many thanks to wheretocredit for this useful tool.
Cover Picture: Fotomontage Marten Bjork / ITA Software
* The asterisk means that we will receive a commission if a booking or a specific action is made via the linked provider. There will be no additional costs for you, and in return, we can offer you Travel-Dealz without annoying advertisements. Also, we won't receive any money just by setting links.
Airplane and train geek living in Rostock, Germany. I became part of the Travel-Dealz team in 2017 and visited many countries since then. Remote islands are among my favorite travel destinations.
How to Book Free Mini Stopovers (Less than 24 Hours) at No Extra Cost
Review: New Air France Business Class Suite on the Boeing 777
Log my World: New Flight Log Competition for MyFlightradar24 with Extensive Statistics
Alone in Business Class: JetBlue Mint London – New York Review
6 Tools That Help You Find a Flight
I am disappointed about Matrix that I use for several years.
I mainly used it for searching long haul flights to USA and Asia in business class. Discovered however that once you find an interesting price on Matrix you usually cannot get it duplicated in the airline website. I tried it for the Star Alliance companies as well as KLM-Air France.
I tried as well to print out the fare details and went to several agencies for duplicating this on their system. All confirmed that the booking classes as requested were all closed and no longer available.
Those reservations were always searched 6-8 months in advance, so definitely not short-term.
My conclusions have been that matrix might be used and working well to define the connections, but is useless returning a trustable fare compared to Google flight which always provides a fare that you find available on the direct company website.
It’s very easy to check prices for trips departing from a specific location to anywhere, but I’m curious if there’s a way to find the lowest prices from any location to a particular destination. As of now, nowhere offers this feature, and I can’t do it on ITX either. This summer, the prices for flights returning to Copenhagen from all over the world are exceptionally high. Even though outbound tickets are cheap, I’m still stuck at home.
Ditmar Lange says: Peter says:Hi, is it possible that the ITA Matrix shows only wrong prices?
I have tried with several flights and have gotten very wrong results. example 1: PAR-BKK in August, ITA shows me 1.500€ but it actually is 3.000€ on EVERY provider
example 2: CAI-BKK mileage run may 16-18 (as noted by you) is available for 680€ on several providers but marked at 3000€ on ITA How exactly can I use ITA if I cannot find a single correct price? Many thanks! Peter
