FlightTrack Pro + TripIt = Travel Made Easy

I've been using the FlightTrack app on my iPhone for quite a while. The app, which used to be free but is now $4.99, makes tracking flights super easy. Since Mike and I travel so much, it is a real time-saver to just open the app and see not only when the flight is scheduled, but also where it is. There is a live map that shows the approximate location of the plane! Here's the skinny from the iTunes Store:

I recently upgraded to FlightTrack Pro ($9.99 new, or $4.99 to upgrade from the lesser version). I love, love, love it!!! It uses push alerts to notify you about flight updates, predicts flight delays, and gives weather forecasts on top of all the regular features. But, the coolest, coolest, coolest thing (note to self: I seem to write something 3 times when I am super excited) is that it integrates with TripIt.

??? What is TripIt? I asked that, too. Let me tell you, TripIt is nothing short of spectacular. Once you have set up a free account, simply forward flight confirmations from your registered email address to plans@tripit.com and presto magic, they get added to your future trips. You can merge trips, rename them, share them, etc... I've included some screen shots below.

Home Page

Trip Details

This is a great way to share trips with family members and friends, and keep track of future travel. I was putting all the info in my Google Calendar before (and will continue to do so), but I like this as a nice overview.

But wait, that's not all... It integrates with FlightTracker Pro so that everything automatically syncs with my iPhone. Check it out:

All my trips are available on my iPhone

Trip Details

Map of trip (updates with location when flight is in progress)

I'm excited to see how this works with the push notifications, letting me know gate information and delays. I'm also looking forward to getting more familiar with TripIt and how I can use it to its fullest.

Happy travels!


p.s. I wrote this post last week and scheduled it to be posted. Yesterday I got this article from Yapta. Even more reason to use TripIt!

Today we’re happy to report that Yapta has struck a partnership with the popular travel planning site TripIt.  The news was alluded to in a panel discussion at the PhoCusWright Conference in Orlando featuring Yapta’s CEO, Tom Romary, and TripIt’s CEO, Gregg Brockway.

For over a year, Yapta has received many requests and suggestions for Yapta and TripIt to merge their services.  Well, the two companies have listened and will now be working to pair TripIt’s travel planning capability with Yapta’s price tracking expertise.  This means travelers will be able to build price assurance into all of their travel plans simply by forwarding their airline confirmation email to TripIt.

Here’s how it will work:

1.   Forward your airline confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com

2.  Organize and share your itineraries on TripIt

3.  Get automatic refund alerts for all your flights from Yapta

It’s that simple.  The click that organizes your travel plans with TripIt will now also protect you on price with Yapta!