By BENÉT J. WILSON
Let me start by apologizing to Greg and his IBIT readers. My last column was Aug. 26, which is far too long, especially since I have SO many pieces yet to write. You all know that life always manages to get in the way.
Since my last post, my Dad was kind enough to buy me a 32 GB iPhone 4 for my birthday. I have had an iPod Touch for a few years, but you are limited to using it fully if you don’t have access to wi-fi. I am a BIG fan of iPhone apps; I currently have 164 of them on my phone.
With the iPhone 4, you can divide your apps into little folders so you don’t have to scroll incessantly to find the apps you want. I have created five travel-related folders, and I thought I’d share 10 travel apps that have changed my life.
- Gate Guru. Earlier this year, you may have seen this app featured in a Apple iPhone TV commercial. It gives locations and user reviews (including mine as Aviation Queen) of retail, restaurants and services at airports, broken down by terminals and concourses, across the country. When you have a tight connection and want to make sure you get something to eat for the plane, this app is a godsend. It also lists retail stores and services including ATMs and post offices. It recently added a feature that offers iPhone coupons for vendors, depending on your airport. For example, I can get a free pretzel at Auntie Anne’s or free cured olives at Vino Volo in Terminal A at my hometown BWI Airport.
- USA Today Auto Pilot. This app has a boatload of functions. It can track your travel itinerary, track a specific flight, show airport delays on an interactive map, give you a travel directory with contact information for the world’s airlines and hotels, offer a weather map with forecasts, features a destinations gallery of user-generated pictures for specific cities and offers links to articles from the USA Today Travel channel.
- Translator, by CoDesign. This puppy has languages from Afrikaans to Yiddish that all translate into English. There’s enough space for plenty of words and phrases to translate.
- Currency Converter, by Oanda. This app converts currencies from the Afghan Afghani to the Zimbabwe Dollar, quickly and easily.
- Southwest Airlines. This carrier is my number one, and this app is great. I can check in for my flight, pay for Early Bird check-in, get DING fare alerts, make reservations and check my Rapid Rewards account.
- I HEART Travel Packing ($1.99). Believe me, it is NOT fun to realize you’ve reached your destination and forgotten to pack underwear. This app has sample lists for men and women; it also allows you to create your own list and create a master catalog where you can drag items for new lists. it can also be invaluable if by chance your luggage is lost and the airline needs an inventory of your items.
- Next Flight ($2.99). Let’s say you’re at JFK Airport and your flight to San Francisco is delayed or worse, canceled. What do you do? Go to this app, type in the city-pair and it will tell you what airlines have the next flights going there. Call your airline (using your USA Today AutoPilot app for the phone number), give them the options and voila-you’re on your way while the rest of the crowd is still standing around the gate agent desk, hoping to be accommodated.
- Airfare, by TechTraveler.com. So the airline, for whatever reason, was not helpful. Go to this app, type in your city-pair, and it promises to find you the lowest fare. The only bad thing is it doesn’t seem to include Southwest Airlines fares (but that’s why you downloaded their app!).
- HotelsNearMe. OK, so the flights were full and you’re stuck overnight at JFK. Click on this app, and, based on your current location, it will tell you the names, addresses, phone numbers, room rates and star ratings for hotels in your vicinity. You can also look at descriptions, amenities, photos and reviews.
- preFlight. Need to know about airport delays? This handy app tells you, broken down by airport or by state.
And because I’m feeling generous, I’ll even throw in a bonus app — MyTSA. This app gives travelers the latest security checkpoint wait times at airports across the country. It uses actual passenger data, along with public feeds on airport delays from FAA’s website, to calculate wait times. I’ve used it several times, and it has been accurate every time. You can read my post on the app at Aviation Week’s Things With Wings blog.
And I’ll toss the question out there to you, dear readers: what iPhone/Android/Blackberry travel apps are a must-have on your devices?
EDITOR’S NOTE
No need to apologize, Benét. We’re just happy to have you here at IBIT, and we always look forward to…Wait a minute…you have a LIFE? I’ve heard of those! I think Oprah did a show on it once!