Airline

How to quickly track a flight from anywhere on your iPhone

Flight Details on iPhone

Whether you’re preparing to jump on a plane or just waiting for a friend to fly in, you may think that you have to download a special app to track those flights. And, while a specific flight tracking app is certainly a great way to go, especially if you’re a frequent traveler, there is another way.

Here’s how to quickly track flights from anywhere with your iPhone and all you need is the flight number.

Gatwick Airport rolls out iBeacons for augmented reality indoor navigation

Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second busiest airport after London Heathrow, has installed 2,000 battery-powered iBeacons for indoor navigation and passenger tracking.

Available across Gatwick Airport’s two terminals, the system is accurate up to three meters, much more reliable than GPS and enables an augmented-reality wayfinding tool so passengers can be shown directions in the camera view of their mobile device.

It could be used to inform passengers they’re running late and help them avoid missing flights.

Conceivably, Gatwick Airport could also take advantage of iBeacons for efficient queue management and to reduce congestion by being able to determine whether to offload luggage if a late passenger is far away.

According to the airport, they won't be collecting any personal data from the beacons with the exception of “generic information on ‘people densities’ in different beacon zones.”

Deployed in just three weeks, iBeacons form part of Gatwick’s £2.5 billion (about $3.1 billion) transformation initiative. The technology is currently being integrated into some of the Gatwick apps.

The airport is in discussion with other airlines to enable the indoor positioning and wayfinding tools to also feature on their apps and services.

According to Gatwick:

Airlines could go further—and with the consent of their passengers—may send reminders on their airline app to late running passengers, for example, or find out where they are and make an informed decision on whether to wait or offload their luggage so the aircraft can take off on time.

The lack of satellite signals makes road-based navigation systems, like Apple Maps, unreliable indoors. That's why Apple has developed inexpensive iBeacons, which are tiny battery-powered Bluetooth transmitters.

Facebook Messenger gains its first airline bot

Facebook on Thursday announced it is launching its first airline information bot within the Messenger app.

The social network has been enhancing Messenger's functionality on a regular basis with new features beyond chatting and has recently added a Transportation tab that lets users in the United States request a ride from Uber.

Messenger's airline bot lets KLM Royal Dutch Airlines customers manage their flights and browse their flight information within the app, without ever leaving their chats.

Southwest Airlines app updated with Passbook support

The official Southwest Airlines app was updated today with Passbook support, allowing passenger to store their mobile boarding passes for quick and easy access when needed during security screening and boarding at the gate.

Those mobile boarding passes can be downloaded directly from the Southwest Airlines app, or any official email or text message containing boarding information sent by the airline.

JetBlue Airways becomes the first US airline to accept Apple Pay for in-flight purchases

Sky is definitely not the limit for Apple's mobile payment service as JetBlue Airways announced on Tuesday that it will very soon start accepting Apple Pay for in-flight purchases of premium offerings, such as EatUp snack boxes and à la carte food options from the EatUp Café, premium beverages, onboard amenities and Even More Space seating.

The airline will start accepting Apple Pay on select JetBlue transcontinental flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco in mid-February. Apple Pay will roll out to additional flights beginning in March, with all JetBlue flights accepting Apple Pay by June.

United Airlines outfitting over 20,000 flight attendants with iPhone 6 Plus

United Airlines announced today that it plans to equip its flight attendants with Apple's iPhone 6 Plus next year. The airline says that the move will put important safety and service information at flight attendants' fingertips and enhance their ability to meet customers' needs.

Attendants will be using the handsets for a number of tasks, including onboard retail transactions for food, drink and other purchases. They'll also be used for accessing important info via email and the United Airlines Intranet, as well as their policy and procedure manuals.

Southwest Airlines brings free Beats Music streaming to in-flight entertainment service

Southwest Airlines on Monday announced an interesting partnership with Apple bringing Beats Music streaming music app to its in-flight entertainment service.

The subscription on-demand streaming music service, which Apple acquired as part of its $3 billion Beats buy in May of this year, is offered for free.

Beginning today, Beats Music is available onboard select Southwest Airlines WiFi-enabled aircraft featuring a library of hundreds of human-curated playlists.