How Flight Intelligence Works
Flight Intelligence is destination.com's AI reasoning layer for flight search. It doesn't replace booking — it helps you decide which flight to book. This page explains exactly how it works, where the data comes from, and how we make money.
Where the data comes from
Live fare data is provided by Travelpayouts, which aggregates inventory across 800+ airlines and major OTAs including Expedia, Trip.com, Kiwi, Booking, and Priceline. The cache refreshes approximately every 30 minutes. When you click Book, you're handed off to the partner displaying that fare, and you complete payment there.
For airline policies (baggage fees, change rules, refund terms), we pull from each airline's official website. Policies are summarized as “standard fare-class behavior” and you should always confirm exact terms at the booking step.
How ranking works
Recommendations are sorted by total price ascending — base fare plus any mandatory ancillaries we can identify (carry-on fees on carriers that charge them, payment surcharges where applicable). Tie-breakers, in order: shorter total elapsed time, fewer stops, longer minimum connection time on multi-leg routes.
The ranking algorithm is a pure function in our codebase. It does not take partner commission rate as an input. It cannot be configured to boost any specific partner. This is enforced at the code level, not as a policy.
How we make money
destination.com is a participant in the Expedia Group Travel Creator Program via Partnerize. When you book through a partner link, the partner pays us a commission funded from their marketing budget. This does not change the price you pay.
Commission rates vary by partner. The Flight Intelligence ranking algorithm is deliberately blind to commission rate — we rank the flight that's best for you, regardless of who pays us more for the click.
What the AI does and doesn't do
What it does
- Ranks flights by price and itinerary quality
- Explains trade-offs (layover length, total travel time, connection risk)
- Summarizes baggage and change-fee policies from airline sources
- Surfaces ancillary fees that aren't visible in headline fares
What it doesn't do
- Hold or reserve seats — fares can change between search and booking
- Process payment — booking happens on the partner site
- Recommend tactics that violate airline contracts of carriage, including hidden-city ticketing, throwaway ticketing, or back-to-back ticketing
- Provide legal, immigration, or visa advice
Known data gaps
Travelpayouts coverage is comprehensive but not exhaustive. A few carriers are systematically under-indexed or absent:
- Ryanair typically blocks aggregator access
- Wizz Air, Southwest, Allegiant coverage varies by route
- Some regional and charter operators are not included
When we suspect an LCC operates a route that isn't in our cache, we flag it and recommend you check the carrier directly.
Questions or concerns
Email hello@destination.com.