Best Apps for Travel

The secret to making a trip to the airport less stressful this Spring/March Break is planning and being prepared. The best way to be prepared is to know what is ahead of you. And downloading a flight tracker app can be your key to easy traveling. So before you even head to the airport, follow the advice of travel experts and use your mobile devices to access airline information online. There are many travel apps out there, but finding a good one to suit your needs can be time consuming. Most airlines offer their own apps, but if you flying on multiple airlines find an app that offers status about multiple airlines. 

These pieces of software—easily downloadable on a smartphone or tablet—not only track your flight and alert you to delays, they’ll often go above and beyond, allowing you to pinpoint your exact location at 40,000 feet, and even giving you a rundown of the best places to eat during your six-hour layover. With scores of flight tracker apps to choose from, here are five FREE apps and 3 worth paying for;

1. FlightAware Flight Tracker (free; iOS, Android): In addition to tracking the real-time flight status and location of any commercial flight worldwide, FlightAware can give you the whereabouts of those lucky enough to be cruising on a charter or private plane. With a GPS system that lets you determine your own whereabouts, see which aircraft are in your nearby vicinity (and where they’re headed), and zoom and pan around a map of the world, this free app is an aviation geek’s fantasy.

2. GateGuru (free; iOS, Android): GateGuru aims to take the guesswork out of your travels and customize your door-to-door adventure. It offers all the basic flight tracking capabilities, but where GateGuru really exceeds is in customizing your travel day plans. Once the details are set, input your itinerary and GateGuru promises to “connect the dots,” spitting out detailed info on where to check in, current airport weather conditions, estimated security wait times, airport and last-minute deals on car rental rates.

3. AirportZoom (free; iPad): You’ll need an iPad if you want to take advantage of the gorgeous graphics that AirportZoom has to offer, providing users with a ton of useful information, including gate changes and flight delays; detailed maps for more than 120 airport terminals; reviews of on-site restaurants, shopping, and services; current weather reports (plus a seven-day forecast) and even barometer and dew point info (which is great for those lucky few who know what to do with it).

4. FlightView (free; iOS, Android): A trip through the airport is a bit of a balancing act; there are shoes and jewelry to remove, laptops that must be placed in their own tray, IDs and tickets to keep in order—the list goes on. FlightView’s My Trips function lets you organize your itinerary, from car service to hotel reservations; simply forward all of your travel confirmation emails and let the app do the rest.

5. iFly Airport Guide (free; iOS, Android): No two airports are created equal, and neither are their amenities. This free flight tracking app is a must for frequent travelers, offering you essential information on more than 700 airports, including a list of which restaurants are closest to your gate (complete with user reviews), whether or not there’s WiFi, parking rates and locations, on-site banks and ATMs, and what your transportation options are if this is your final destination.

Nothing in life is free and for these apps, you have to pay. Some are for simple information gathering, one educational for serious aviation buffs or the potential pilot in your family and one for using offline.

1. FlightBoard ($3.99; iOS and Android): Sometimes all you want is a simple flight board—the kind you can find in any airport that lists all arrivals and departures in a simple, easy-to-digest design. Which is exactly the kind of straightforward information that FlightBoard offers for more than 1,400 airlines traveling to and from more than 3,000 airports, with updates made every five minutes. If the app’s appealingly old-school design looks familiar, that’s probably because it’s based on the flight board of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport.

2. Flightradar24 ($2.99; iOS and Android): Play air traffic controller with Flightradar24, an app that’s both educational and entertaining. At its most basic level, you can review such real-time flight status info as scheduled and actual departure and arrival times, plus the route, speed, and altitude of individual flights. The fun part comes with features like Cockpit View, which allows you to see through the eyes of a pilot, and an Augmented Reality View, which identifies the planes flying overhead once you point and click your phone’s camera.

3. FlightTrack ($4.99; iOS and Android): A recent report by DePaul University’s Chadwick Institute for Metropolitan Development indicated that a growing number of airline passengers (more than 35 percent) are utilizing portable devices in flight, but only 10 percent are using WiFi service. Which makes FlightTrack’s offline capabilities—including real-time updates on delays, gates and cancellations for more than 3,000 airports and a zoomable map—practically a necessity.