Why I don't use Hipmunk..
Update: Some interesting discussion on this post on Hacker News.
I was impressed with Hipmunk's concept when it first came out and even wrote a blog post about it. I have travelled countless times since then, but haven't been persuaded to use Hipmunk yet, instead preferring the more usable Kayak.
Let's see why:
1. Default sorting by Agony: What exactly is Agony, in layman terms? I have no idea. There is some vague explanation on the site about it being some sort of a combined metric, but I find it hard to visualize or connect to anything that matters to me. 2. Price: The pricing is vague. What does From $639 mean to a price-conscious traveler? Not clear. I can't tell whether the price is only for the onward journey or also includes the return journey. I also can't tell if it's $639, or something higher (because of the From). Do I have to actually go through multiple screens and select the onward and return flights just to find the exact price? That's too much work..
Kayak, on the other hand, tells me the price unambiguously.
3. Selecting onward/return flights in 2 different steps: Being able to pick onward and return flights separately might sound neat in theory, but it's confusing for the average traveler. I want simple options. On Hipmunk, how do I know what options United will give me for the return flight if I pick the 6 am onward? What if I pick delta? Do I have to click on each individual flight to see what the return flight options are? This taxes my brain and is frustrating.
4. Flight duration: visualizing this is supposed to be Hipmunk's strength, but it's not helpful to me. I find the hours explicitly stated on Kayak ("8h 51m") much more comprehensible:
than having to estimate the duration by looking at Hipmunk's excel type UI.
5. Filtering: Hipmunk falls short here too. Their "Non-stops" filter is grouped together with sorting options, making it hardly noticeable.
Compare this to Kayak, which has really simple filters on the sidebar:
On Kayak, I can specify the number of stops I am comfortable with (my wife only likes non-stops, I'm ok with 1 stops). I can also specify my take-off times for both legs (say early evening for onward flights and late evenings for return flights). It's really useful to use the departure/arrival time sliders to view flight availability, while also observing how that affects price.
6. Modifying a flight search: Kayak has a prominent Change your search link on the left sidebar above the filters. Clicking on it opens up a lightweight dialog box that I can use to change my current flight options and rerun search.
Hipmunk has a New Search link at the top, hardly visible(faded colors), which opens a new tab. What if I only wanted to change the return date on the current search? I don't really want to go to a new tab and type everything again. Correction: I was mistaken about this and the screeshot below is wrong; I must have accidentally clicked on "Clear".
Correct screenshot below:
So Hipmunk does preserve your last search parameters, which is very useful. However the mental barrier of opening a new tab just because you want to change one parameter in your search is still high. I think the Kayak approach of a lightweight popup to modify flight parameters is simple and elegant.
7. "Live Help: Offline": unnecessary button on Hipmunk. Why not just remove this when live help is unavailable?
Bottomline: I'm optimistic of Hipmunk's potential, but am waiting for the UI to gain basic usability before I start using it and recommending to friends.
