Travel trouble? There’s an app for that now
You can’t stop the irritating delays and cancellations – but using your phone you CAN ease the hassle they cause and save money
Find a new flight in minutes and watch as the plane arrives SKYSCANNER: FREE
THE era of traipsing around travel shops in search of the best flight deal is long gone. These days search engines on the internet such as Skyscanner will do the legwork on your behalf.
Information about thousands of flights that can be booked in an instant is only a few taps away on a smartphone app – often saving you hundreds of pounds in the process.
In a crisis, they could even spare you the kind of flightdesk anguish faced by Steve Martin in the hit Hollywood comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles, when he found himself stranded at an airport with no one able to help.
This is what happened to Bob Hughes, a retired British Airways customer services assistant, who gets great discounts on international flights thanks to his previous job. However, he faces the downside that he is more likely to get bumped off flights if there are too many passengers.
The 70-year-old widower, who lives in Uxbridge, West London, says: ‘I was stranded in Singapore at 11 o’clock at night in April this year having just been bumped off a flight back to Britain. ‘I whipped out my smartphone and tapped my requirements into the Skyscanner app. Within a couple of minutes I’d booked another flight for just a few hours later. ‘I walked straight to the checkin desk and discovered the flight confirmation details had even been sent 30 seconds earlier. The hassle of booking was avoided and I got to choose the price and airline – £400 with Emirates. ‘British Airways later refunded me for the inconvenience of being bumped off their plane and I also enjoyed a bonus stop-over in Dubai.’ Other flight comparison websites with app tools that are worth checking out include Kayak and Momondo.
FLIGHTAWARE: FREE
WITH this app, there is no need to wait until you get to the airport to find your flight is delayed. All the key details about your flight are accessible via your smartphone.
Thanks to such apps, you can also go plane spotting, as they allow you to find out what planes are flying around in real time, giving the routes and heights of jets.
It also lets you check out local weather reports and airport information to find your way around. The app is just one of many similar pieces of software you can download on to your phone to help keep tabs on fights.
Others worth considering include Flight Tracker, Flight Board and Flightradar.