If you find yourself on the road more than a couple of times a year, you owe it to yourself to check out the latest versions of some really great applications that can help you keep track, stay on time, roll with changes and updates, and deal with delays and cancelations. A couple of months ago, I found myself in the Memphis airport, dealing with a MAJOR flight delay (and potential cancelation issue), and I was surrounded by people who stayed close because I had better information than even the Gate Agents. It’s great to stay in the know, and it doesn’t cost a lot to do so. And it sure adds a lot of peace of mind. Check out some of my favorite travel apps that have stood the test of time and trial by fire.
TripIt Adds Points and Network Tracking
If you have a hard time keeping up with your travel plans, TripIt is the perfect service for you. From certain email services (Gmail that I know of, but I am sure there are others), TripIt will automatically grab your email confirmations and create a trip, or update an existing record. It does a great job of de-duplicating records. In the latest versions for Android and iPhone, you can now also automatically track Airline/Hotel/Rental Car points. Additionally, you can see from mobile if members of your circle of traveling friends are close. TripIt is also the engine that can automatically feed other travel applications, such as Flight Track Pro and Flight Stats, so that you only have to import data into your travel network of apps one time and it get allocated automatically to all the apps. If you want to catch up on the incredible number of recent updates, check out blog.tripit.com.
As another hectic holiday season approaches, we’ve been busy working on a request that many of you have made…the ability to “gift” TripIt Pro to friends, family, and colleagues. We’re happy to announce that you can now purchase a one-year gift subscription to TripIt Pro for the frequent travelers in your life.
For just $49 you can give someone their own personal travel assistant for a whole year. TripIt Pro eliminates stress and saves time and money on the road. And, with new flight refund tracking, it might even generate some cash. That definitely beats a reindeer sweater or a cheese log!
TripIt Pro has all the goodness of TripIt, plus:
- Alerts about flight delays, cancellations and gate changes.
- A helping hand when you need to find an alternate flight with open seats.
- Frequent travel account information all in one place.
- Airfare refund tracking – the average refund is $150!
TripIt for Android
The recent refresh features the following highlights:
- Faster performance
- Trip sharing: easily share your itinerary with anyone
- Points tab: TripIt Pro members on Android can now track all their frequent traveler accounts
- Search nearby restaurants easily from your hotel reservations in the app
- Support for high resolution, tablet-sized screens
Flight Track Pro Covers All the Angles
In one single app, you can now get the best of all possible worlds. FlightTrack Pro is truly the Swiss-army knife of travel apps. FlightTrack Pro, which is the $10 version of FlightTrack, automatically imports TripIt records, gives you real-time updates on flight status, gates, weather, aircraft, seats, and a myriad of additional details. All with the purpose of keeping you on top of your travel. It is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms.
FlightTrack Pro is the most deluxe flight tracking app out there. It gives you all the tools you need to track any flight in the world.
- Covers more than 1,400 airlines and more than 4,000 airports
- Weather radar overlay on map view for North America
- Gate information for flights
- Baggage claim information
- Find alternate flights
- Search and add flights up to 11 months in advance
- Localizations: English, German, French, Spanish
- Use "Repeating Flight" function to track same flight daily
- Sync flights with your phone’s calendar
- Aircraft type
- Flight delay forecast charts
- Seating info from SeatGuru
- Push alerts for flight updates
- FAA airport delays & closures
- Terminal maps for arriving and departing airports
FlightBoard for the iPhone – Airport Remote for Android and iPhone
Turn your iPhone or iPad into the Arrivals and Departures board for any airport in the world! Just select your favorite airport and FlightBoard gives you arrivals and departures in real-time. It’s like being at the airport without the jostling. We based the design on the amazing flight board at Charles de Gaulle Airport to give the app a beautiful, old school look. From the same folks who brought you FlightTrack Pro.
Airport Remote is available for both the iPhone and the Android platforms. Airport Flight Monitor – right at your fingertips! Flight data updated in real-time – app includes flight status, gate details, and a share function. Never have to search for the gate monitor at the airport again. App includes 100 of the top airports in the U.S., plus over 20 of the biggest around the world, with more coming soon: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, New York, Las Vegas, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Newark, Orlando, Charlotte, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C….plus 80 more!
Highlights Include:
- View Airport Remote Monitor for all Arriving & Departing flights from/to airport
- Check gate assignments, delays & cancellations
- View delay information for all flights to/from the airport
- Easily email all flight details to friends, family & co-workers with the touch of a button
- Sort information based on your travel needs
- Quickly find alternative flights by scrolling through and sorting airport data
If you want to stop wandering around the airport, looking for the Arrival/Departure Screens, all you have to do is equip your smartphone to show you exactly the same information. This just can’t be beat.
Smartpark Keeps Track of Your Parking Meter
If you are like me, one of the things I most dislike is trying to park in a strange city. Unfortunately, it’s something I get stuck doing a lot. Smartpark is the application that I finally settled on to help me deal with this problem. It tracks your time, memorizes where you are, and will notify you with sufficient time to deal with the meter. It works just a well with parking garages too. Perhaps the best part of all is that it is free!
A parking genius! It remembers where you parked and when your meter will expire!
It even remembers altitude so you know which level you parked on.
It guides you to your car via compass, telling you how far you are!
Widget displays the time remaining on your meter, right on your home screen!