Lies, Damned Lies and ... Caching = sub 3 second response time

In decades past Google gave us sub-second response time in flat search. It's fabulous. We can see how well it works. We rely on it. The search points us to the right place, and away we go.  Now let's unpack that a moment for airline results. 

Looking at Google search results.

1. The results are cached. The qualitative value of those results is well shall we just say poor. 

2. We already discount the accuracy of the results but if it's a news item, it will tell us that the results are aged by so much time. 

3. We know that the full result requires more research but I can start working with this information.

Now let's look at flight results. This is how we come to the 3 big lies of airline search results

A) We know it has a high probability of being out of date. 

B) The result is incomplete. This is highly unlikely to be the result of the price I will finally pay. It wont include ancillaries. There is a lot more I will have to pay.

C) The result most likely came from an airline who is not always the cheapest. 

What is my behaviour?

1. I will go into the purchase path to get a much more realistic set of results. 

2. I will create a shopping cart because that should be realistic

3. I will never buy on the first go.

So what can we learn from this lesson?

Well lot's of things. Continuous pricing is unreliable. So are the results. The brand means nothing. The only time that the airline will guarantee the price is after i have actually paid for the ticket. (And even then it can be iffy!).

So like the headline says. 

Lies

Damned Lies

And 3 second response time.