flighty — live flight Tracker
An app to make air travel less stressful
Free (Pro $8.99/month or $49.99/year) From Global Airport Flight & Airplane Status Tracker LLC, flightyapp.com made for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch needs iOS 12 or later
Travel is one of the areas where mobile technology has revolutionized the way we do things. With an always-on internet connection, notifications and increasingly advanced apps, it’s now easier than ever to plan and manage your journeys. But not all apps are created equal. Managing complex and regularly-updating information about flights requires a careful approach if an app is to be usable by members of the public. Flighty aims to provide all the information you need in an easy-to-follow format, whether you’re an occasional or frequent flyer.
The first nice touch is that you don’t have to sign up or log in. Simply add a flight using its flight number or start and end locations, and a date. The app polls a range of
online data sources including flight plans and airlines, and shows you a wealth of information about that flight in an easily scrollable single page.
Information includes vital stats like departure times, terminals and gates, punctuality of the route based on recent data, arrival times if the plane is already en route, and any delays to take off or landing. It is able to start tracking a flight 25 hours before scheduled departure and notify you of possible problems. There’s also information like weather at destination and time zone changes. The Pro subscription adds detailed push notifications which can be configured in the settings, plus TripIt, calendar sync, email import of flights, and more. All of your flights are stored and the app can show you a summary of all your flight activity, which is a nice touch.
The app is beautifully designed and easy to use — it even has a focus on one–handed operation since you’re likely to be carrying luggage while using it. Notifications are configurable, so you can see some or all of them, and arrive consistently quickly. For occasional travellers or for monitoring someone else’s flight you’ll probably be fine with the free version, or the month-by-month subscription that you can switch off when not needed. Frequent fliers will find the yearly price is sensible for this level of help with navigating airports, delays, and flights.
THE BOTTOM LINE. Flighty is a slick and very useful flight assistant for all travellers.