Web Buzz: Tixchart.com finds lowest airfares in U.S., Europe, Pacific

What would you be willing to do for the lowest fare?

Name: Tixchart.com

What it does: Searches for and compares low-cost carriers to help you find the lowest fare as well as reveals whole-year price trends. Searches carriers in the United States, Europe and the Pacific.

What’s hot: Plug in your destination and travel dates and up pop two graphs: one charting prices within a certain number of days of your departure date; the other, prices for your return. Click on the peaks and valleys to see the various travel dates and their corresponding prices. Then scroll down to find specific flights. There’s a filter bar that opens and closes on the left side of your screen if you want specifics about destinations, stopovers, duration and more. I found routes and prices I would never have known about had I used my usual search methods for a trip to Europe this summer, when fares are traditionally high.

What’s not: Not for the faint of heart or for those looking for first-class travel. Your desire for a bargain must be matched by your eye for detail. Although I found flights from Los Angeles to Europe that saved thousands of dollars for my family of three, the short segments had to be booked on different carriers and on different websites. I had to take notes and use a calculator in order to make sure the routes were going to work logistically and financially. Would it add adventure (or inconvenience, depending on how you look at it) by having us travel to other countries, experience long stopovers and change planes several times in order to get the low fare. With a young child in tow, is it worth it? For our easy-traveling trio — heck yes. Note: Still in beta.

— Jen Leo