In October 2011, about a month after the buzz around the launch of Google Flight Search and (kind of) subsided, Tnooz published traffic share figures for the fledgling service.
The data obtained from Experian Hitwise revealed a slow start for Google's first official foray into flight search, with the service ranked number 391 in the list of most popular travel sites in the US.
In comparison, Kayak, one of the company most publicly opposed to Google's acquisition of ITA Software 12 months earlier, was in 17th position.
Not much to worry about, then?
Four months on, how is Google doing now (admittedly still without a fully-baked product, but with heaps of exposure)?
[table id=3012 /]
Other brands not included in the table, but where data is available for January 2012, include:
As pointed out in October last year, Google is still only focusing on domestic routes, but since then it has started
throwing search results higher into SERPS.
The worry will not be felt at Kayak just yet, but perhaps Google's arch rival Bing (which is powered by Kayak!) will be wondering what happens when Google Flight Search does finally get a full suite of routes and destinations, especially to cities outside of the US.
As for Hipmunk and Mobissimo? Legitimate questions can be asked as to what is the strategy to claw back some of the tiny levels of market share they had before Google started gaining a scintilla of traction.