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In case you blinked, the travelsphere was all atwitter last week over news of Matrix 2, the flight search engine behind … many of the other big name flight search engines. It’s the same backend that powers Kayak, Orbitz, CheapTickets and countless other travel sites.
The interface is perfectly minimalist, a la Kayak but without the ads. And since you’re getting the data directly from the source, time spent waiting for your search results is also substanitally reduced.
We particularly like the calendar view (shown above) which asks only for the month and duration of your trip before spitting out a timetable of the cheapest available fares.
As some commenters point out at Lifehacker however, what’s lacking is the inclusion of budget carriers (Southwest, etc.). But, hey, it’s still a pretty sweet starting point the next time you’re booking a flight.