n-patel / flights

Python app to continuously compute cheapest flights if your dates of travel are flexible, and notify you via SMS

cheap-flight-finder

This Python app will help you to find cheap roundtrips flights, especially if you have flexible dates of travel (for example, any weekend in the next six months). Since airlines change ticket prices throughout the week, leaving this running will allow you to wait until prices drop under a certain threshold before booking. Once the script finds a suitable flight, it will send you a text message notification. This program considers multiple different airports and travel dates, allowing you to find flights such as "Flights departing from either [OAK or SFO] going to either [DCA or BWI] on any weekend for the next six months".

Installation

Setup

1. Clone this repository: git clone https://github.com/n-patel/cheap-flight-finder
2. Ensure that you have Python3 and pip3 installed.
3. Install required modules with pip3 install -r requirements.txt
4. Download PhantomJS and put the executable in this root directory (cheap-flight-finder).
   • Alternatively, you can place the executable in /usr/local/bin folder (Mac/Linux) or in your Scripts folder (Windows).
5. Register for a free account on Twilio and get a phone number.

Configuration

1. Open config.ini. Input your Twilio details (from the Twilio console) into the top part of the file.

2. Depending on which option you chose for #4 above, input the appropriate Phantom options (if you did not take the alternative option, set use_custom_phantom_path to true).

3. Scroll to the very bottom of app.py. Input your desired itineraries. For example, if you wanted to travel any weekend for the next four weeks, you would create four Itinerary objects, one per each weekend.

   # scan() takes an array of Itineraries
   itins = [Itinerary(...), Itinerary(...)]
   scan(itins)
   
   # The format of an Itinerary:
   #   [src/dst airports] should look like ["OAK", "SFO"]
   #   [leave/return dates] should look like ["05/13", "05/14", "05/15"]
   #   budget is an integer
   Itinerary([src airports], [dst airports], [leave dates], [return dates], budget)
   
   # Note 0: If you're only interested in one-way trips, use an empty array [] for [return dates]
   # Note 1: This assumes that you want to return to the same airports you left from.

Execution

1. Run python3 app.py. Leave it running, and it will notify you via text for important events (started, stopped, found a cheap flight). You can also leave this script running on a remote server.
2. If you want to add/remove Itineraries, you must restart the program (Ctrl-C to stop, then follow the above step after editing the Python file).

Contributions

Any contributions would be welcome! Please try to follow the style conventions used throughout the rest of the script (though project-wide style changes are appreciated if appropriate -- just be sure to keep everything consistent). If you find any bugs, please submit an issue and I'll take a look.