Flying Somewhere: There’s At Least 5 Apps For That

Thinking about going travelling? On a budget? Sure, everyone is. In fact I don’t think I know anybody who wants to pay more than they have to for a flight, hotel – or anything. Since the internet came along I don’t think I’ve used a travel agent to book a flight or holiday. I’ve always used price comparison sites, voucher sites and discount codes to smartly shop for my holidays and especially my flights.

Now it’s possible to do all of that on your phone and the following is a breakdown of some of the best, and most worthwhile apps to download.

Skyscanner: All Flights, Everywhere!

It does exactly as it says on the tin. The Skyscanner iPhone App (think Skyscanner.net) allows you to search any flight, anywhere and see the cheapest flight.

Personally I think where this one stands out is that you can search across an entire month and see the cheapest day to fly out and return anytime that month, or fly out one month and return another if you prefer. You can also see the cheapest flights for a year, so if you’re thinking “Hey I’d like to visit New York this year” well you can just put that in and you’ll see when is cheapest to fly.

Just as good is the ability to say “Hey I want to go to New York this year” but I don’t care from which airport and it’ll show you which one is cheapest. Or if you’re say based in London you can say “Hey I want to go to New York this year” andchoose from anywhere in London (the same works for other cities like Glasgow). If you only download one iPhone travel app, make sure it’s this one.

FlightTrack

Find out about flight delays and cancellations as they happen. Here’s how this app could come in useful:

You’re flying somewhere, let’s say to Iceland. Scientists have suggested a volcano is looking a bit shifty. All you need to do is let Flighttrack know when you’re going and it will update you about delays, cancellations and your baggage claim information for when you arrive. It’s ideal for keeping you in the know and even friends and colleagues who can be subscribed to your flight status emails as well.

TripIt

Where would this review be without a mention of Tripit. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t get a notification on my Linkedin that a contact or friend is either getting ready to leave for a trip or coming back from a trip.

You could easily be led to believe that Tripit is simply an app or service for letting everybody know that you’re about to leave on a business trip. It’s not. Well, at least that’s only a part of it. The real resource is simply being able to manage your travels. As soon as you book a trip, just forward your details to plans@tripit.com and it will build your itenerary.

It’s a handy resource and one that’s growing in popularity. Tripit is free so you have nothing to lose by adding it to your artillerary.

Gate Maps

You’re at the airport, running late for your flight and you’ve no idea where your gate is. We’ve all been there, some of us, embarrassingly, more than others. Rather than get help for this – perhaps better timekeeping skills, there’s another solution – Gate Maps. Gate Maps is a simple iPhone app that allows you to see, well, a map of your gate. It’s very handy for those rushing to get about the airport, or perhaps wondering what kind of shopping is available and it’s available on your iPhone.

Personally I often wonder, does that really need to be an app? Could it not just be a mobile website? Well Gate Maps is definitely one app that does need to be that. For the simple reason that most gate maps are in PDF mode (difficult to download), airline websites are typically very difficult to use (trust me) and many sites use flash for their maps (grrr) – yeah this deserves to be an app.

The only downside to this is that it’s mainly US-based, although it is starting to grow more internationally. Personally I think it’s a good app, especially if you’re planning to fly in the good ole USA.

Jet Lag Fighter

Jetlag. It’s something we’ve all suffered through. Cult of Mac calls it a flight hangover. The good news is, whatever you call it, there’s an app for that.

Jet Lag Fighter, an app which has picked up a lot attention, gives you the tools and information you need to beat your next hangover. From when to sleep, including ideal nap times and lengths, to when to get your sunshine/daylight in, this app calculates everything that you probably never thought about calculating before. Well I certainly didn’t anyway, I used to just suffer through it.

“I’ve had jet lag problems my whole life, but when I was younger, staying productive wasn’t such a problem,” Beyer-Clausen, now 35, told Cult of Mac. “Using the app cut down the recovery time from about five days to two, definitely more manageable.”

Honourable Mention: SeatGuru

Seatguru gets an honourable mention as although it doesn’t have an iPhone app, it does have a mobile version of the site and is a very useful tool.

Airline seats? Why would I want to know about them? You may not know it but ‘all airline seats are created equal, but some are more equal than others’. That’s where SeatGuru comes in. SeatGuru is the expert (or guru if you will) on airline seats.

What’s there to know? Well, simply put it tells you that the seats at the back of the plane often don’t recline fully, are smaller and may even have less leg room. similarly the row before the exit row has similar shortcomings. Seats near the back of the plane on the other hand – according to SeatGuru – tend to offer more leg room than seats at the front of the plane.

Ok so very interesting, but do I really need to access that on my mobile? Well according to SeatGuru, not only are all the seats different depending on where you’re sitting they also vary depending on the airline you’re flying with. Founder Matt Daimler says:

“Flying typically offers so many aspects that are out of your direct control…you are at the mercy of weather, and crew schedules, and air traffic control, and it’s really nice to be able to control this one aspect of your trip, your seat.”

It’s ideal not only for those who are looking for more leg room but also those who need a wider seat (often it’s one or the other). It’s also very handy for finding where power outlets are (for laptops and such) and where inflight entertainment is. While you may use the main website (seatguru.com) when booking your flight, having the mobile website bookmarked is handy for cancelled flights or if you’re booking a flight (perhaps with the Skyscanner App?) on the go.