2014 saw many app developers taking on the yet relatively unmastered art of streamlining airline travel. Taking a browse through the Apple app store recently, we decided to run a round up of smartphone apps, both new and old, that we have decided we can’t live without.
Lounge Buddy
We love this nifty app, especially travelling as much as we do. Lounge Buddy helps people find themselves a little bit of luxury in over 500 airports all around the world. For those with a few hours to kill can input their flight details, airline membership details and credit cards, so the app can find the best way of getting you into lounges, along with passenger reviews of the lounges too. There are a whole host of excellent extras such as filtering results by amenity type or you can also view hours, location, ratings, reviews, photos, amenities, access requirements, and guest privileges for each lounge.
Price: Free; www.loungebuddy.com
SeatGuru
This is a must have for every traveller. This nifty app has saved our rear-end countless times, as well as help us secure a little bit of extra leg-room. With numerous seat maps for most airlines covered, anyone with a little bit of common sense can find the best seat for their flight, no matter which cabin class they fly. It highlights key seats on each aircraft as green, yellow, red or white, which separates the excellent seats from those to avoid. Also on the app is a flight search tool and flight status tool, enabling you to find the best priced flights. It also allows users to submit their own photos of the experience and write up reviews too.
Price: Free; www.seatguru.com/mobileapps
iFly Pro HD
iFly Pro HD is a great app for those wanting really detailed information on over 700 airports, including in-terminal navigation to help you quickly find services and amenities near your location or a gate, and real-time flight status and tracking. Whilst only 700 airports, the information supplied is vast, including Restaurants, Cafes, Stores, Lounges, Restrooms, Terminal Maps with GPS location (as available), Airline details (numbers, route maps, baggage fees, etc), Layover ideas, Wifi coverage, Ground transportation options, Parking rates and locations and Terminal services (banks/ATMs, business centers, currency exchange, etc.) If you end up in one of the airports that iFly Pro have mapped out, this tool will help you explore on either iPad or iPhone or any android powered device.
Price: £3.99/$4.99 with a free option also available; www.ifly.com/iFlyProApp.html
GateGuru
Gate Guru, another TripAdvisor owned app, much like SeatGuru, is perfect for on-the-day travel information with a really easy to get to grips with user interface. Once you input your itinerary, GateGuru fills in the blanks! Some of the relevant information that GateGuru provides a traveler includes: check-in airport terminal, airport weather, terminal and gate arrival and departure information, real time flight status with push notifications for changes and updates, estimated TSA security wait times for your checkpoints, airport food and amenity information (with over 35,000 ratings and reviews), customized to your arrival and departure terminal, airport maps and tips to help you navigate an unfamiliar airport and even last minute rental car bookings with substantial savings.
Price: Free; www.gateguru.com
JustLanded
Perhaps our favourite of the list, purely because it solves a very clever problem that most friends and family suffer. Trying to work out when to leave for the airport, not just to be there in time for the aircraft to land, but for the precise moment you walk through arrivals with bag in hand. This could save people a lot of money in parking at overly expensive airport car parks. This is done by the app calculating the actual time of arrival of the aircraft, mixed with live traffic updates, current location and delays through security, meaning the app can pretty accurately predict when your passenger would get airside. This could also help the thousands of chauffeur drivers around the world. Sadly the app only works in the US and Canada, but they have promised to add more countries soon.
Price: $1.99; www.getjustlanded.com
TheDesignAir 