iPhone 14 users will be highly anticipating the release of iOS 16 on September 12th. Ahead of the big day, popular flight tracking app Flighty has launched a free update to take advantage of the brand-new lock screen features.
The app's founder and CEO, Ryan Jones, yesterday gave Simple Flying a tour of the app. The executive has a rich history in the technology market, having graduated in mechanical engineering and spending time at Apple, which featured Flighty in its Keynote this week.
Jones explained the impact of Apple's new iPhone and operating system on travelers. He highlighted how Flighty is an excellent example of how the new iOS will integrate widgets. Notably, iOS 14 will have new features that will bring color to the overall passenger journey.
In this age of ongoing travel disruptions, including last-minute delays and cancellations, it has been an overwhelming struggle for passengers to keep up to date with their schedule, especially amid the fact that travelers have to consult ever-changing data, including their check-in code, terminal, gate, departure time, and seat.
As a result, Flighty has designed "15 smart states that make sure each one of those is shown at just the right time, so you don't have to open the app or even unlock your phone." All widgets will work with the iPhone 14, and Live Activities support is arriving this year.
Jones told Simple Flying the following during a demonstration of the app:
"In the case of Flighty, we count down to your actual travel coming up. An exciting moment for a lot of people is their trip to Barbados, or wherever, coming up. As your trip gets closer, we show the gate you're departing from, the time, the seat. And then there's a lot of other states: for example, 24 hours before the flight, you'll see your locator code, when you should head to the airport, you'll see which terminal to head to. As you walk down the jetway, you see your seat number. And then this is my kind of favorite part is as you're on the plane, we make this plane progress bar to show how close you are to landing and the flight being done. And then when you land, of course, we show if you arrive early, on-time or late and the belt baggage belt to go to, and then the weather. So, for frequent flyers and power travelers and someone who's going to pick a widget, they might want to choose the Flighty widget to be one of those on their lock screen all the time."
Altogether, the airline industry continues to battle against continued challenges, including staff shortages, restrictions, and jet fuel supplies. In turn, these difficulties are taking their toll on the public, who are having to constantly check what the latest situation is with their flight. As Flighty puts it - "Seeing your live flight status every time you pick up your phone (avg 250 times per day!) is a huge stress relief."
These updates complement the existing tracking benefits of Flighty. The company emphasizes that the top cause of delays is a late inbound aircraft. Therefore, it automatically monitors this for 25-hrs before departure. The next major cause of delays is airspace mandates. So, the firm has got direct FAA access to alert passengers. Initiatives such as this could help the everyday passenger understand flight operations better in this complex period.
What are your thoughts about the Flighty app? Are you looking forward to trying out the new update? Let us know what you think in the comment section.