Did you know the first and leading provider of real-time flight information is headquartered right alongside I-90 in Allston?
The company, FlightView, was founded in 1981 as the first non-airline approved entity to receive “Aircraft Situation Display” data straight from the FAA. FlightView went on to be the first to develop a radar-based tracking system for commercial use and is credited with being the first company to bring this data onto the Web, making it available to the general public. Announced last week, FlightView continues to be first in flight tracking, offering iPhone owners a free version of FlightView’s mobile app – separating the company from competing apps with price points that can climb to as much as $9.99.
FlightView’s Mobile Road
The market for travel apps is large. Seventy five percent of frequent business travelers (people who make 5+ trips a year) and half of all leisure travelers own a smartphone. And there is plenty of room for growth, with one fifth of these traveling smartphone owners having downloaded a travel related app in the last year. FlightView has been on top of this mobile opportunity since the iPhone App Store was launched in mid-2008.
After making their foray into mobile in 2009 with release of a mobile site, FlightView quickly announced an iPhone-optimized site two months later. The site enabled travelers to enter a flight number or route and see its status (delayed, en route, canceled). Users could also see the flight’s en-route location on a map as well as a weather overlay to see any possibility for delays.
After offering this base mobile site, FlightView launched a more sophisticated, dedicated app for the Palm Pre and BlackBerry in 2009. And this year, on top of building a customized app for the BlackBerry Storm, FlightView has been all about iPhone and Android.
FlightView launched their dedicated iPhone app this summer for $0.99, which boasted a new “My Trips” feature to enable travelers to group flight legs and add notes to these itineraries, such as car rental or hotel reservation information. FlightView released version 1.4 upgrades to this iPhone app the end of September. The app now provides integration across multiple calendars, a self-service air travel help section, as well as in-flight details such as the plane’s position, speed and altitude. This version has been rated 3.5 stars by 131 people, and a similar app for Android was downloaded by over 40,000 users within 30 days of its release.
The new, free version of FlightView’s iPhone app has hit the app store just in time for all that eventful, holiday and winter traveling. The only feature this free app does not include that the paid app does is iPhone calendar integration. This, and if you prefer to be ad-free, is available here on their paid app.
FlightView’s CEO On Mobile Ad Networks
The free FlightView app is supported by mobile advertising, which is folded into the app either above or below the main screen as seen on the image to the left.
The ads are served up primarily through iAds (Apple) and AdMob (Google). While the ads change each time you refresh or visit a new section of the app, they aren’t overly intruding to the FlightView experience. This allows you to keep your eyes focused on flight and gate information in any stressful situation, or wander and curiously click through on the ads if you’re delayed and looking for some entertainment.
We asked FlightView’s CEO Mike Benjamin about his experience using and integrating with these mobile ad networks, and he even pointed to a third — Millennial Media out of Baltimore — with whom he has been particularly impressed. Benjamin offered, “We use both iAd and AdMob networks. We prioritize iAd first and AdMob second when there is no fill from iAd. We’ve been pleased with the simple iAd integration on the Apple platform and the high quality of advertising they provide. We use multiple ad networks on our FlightView Free app for Android as well; one of the additional providers we us on that platform and have been particularly impressed with is Millennial Media.”
When BostInno asked Benjamin about his experience building FlightView in Boston he spoke in particular to all the mobile talent and resources here. “As a software company based in Boston for the last 30 years, we’ve been able use leading edge technology and build innovative products due to the caliber of software development experts living in the Boston area. The vibrant technology scene in Boston draws creative, forward thinkers and the hundreds of local colleges are a great source for recruiting fresh talent.”
Regardless if you’re the lucky holiday traveler or if you’re keeping tabs on friends and family who are traveling, keep this feature rich Boston-built app at your fingertips — and especially with all those winter flight delays at Logan International.
You can follow FlightView on Twitter and Facebook for great travel advice. How does this free, Boston-based app compare to other travel apps you use?
