Fly by Night (or Day, or...)

The irony is anything but sweet: Just as the experience of air travel continues to deteriorate, the proliferation of travel-related Web sites has made it easier to get to your destination more efficiently. Now a new group of Robin Hood programmers is building next-gen travel sites that will give the Travelocities and Kayaks more competition while making the ticket- buying process even more transparent. Two we like:

• ITA Software What's the cheapest weekend this month to travel to Denver? How about the best travel days for a family vacation to Mexico, sometime in September? ITA's site (registration required) will display fares for specific days, weekends, or even over an entire month. A color-coded bar graph identifies particular airlines for an easy-to-read schedule of prices and times.
  
  
• Flyspy.com Currently in testing and due to launch late this summer, Flyspy will allow users to view loads of data, such as a month of prices for the same flight, via a graph. Add in variables like multiple airports to find the best deal.