iPhone Travel Apps

1.  TripIt – Basic Version is Free - www.tripit.com

I have found Trip It to be the easiest way to have easy access to all my travel details (flights, hotel, car reservations, cruise, activities, tours, etc.) all on one site. You can add your trip information two ways. The easiest is to forward your confirmations to plans@tripit.com and the site will pull the necessary information and build your itinerary for you. I prefer doing it this way for business trips.

The second option to build your itinerary is to go to their website (www.tripit.com) and enter all your trip information yourself. While this is more time consuming, I actually prefer this method for leisure trips. For me, there is something about planning everything out that allows you to see if you have over planned or if you have room to do more.

All the information will then be available at your fingertips when you launch the app on your iPhone! The free version provides you with the following on the website: flight tracking information, terminal maps, driving directions, and airplane-seat advice from Seat Guru. The Pro service adds loyalty-program tracking and recommends other flights if yours is canceled and that will cost you about $69 per year.

From their website, you can learn the following about the company:

With today's myriad of travel sites, even the most experienced traveler has their hands full managing all the details of a typical trip. Booking airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and restaurants leaves you with lots of separate pieces of paper. Throw in maps, directions, things to do, and weather and the chaos multiplies.

TripIt turns chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:
• Organize trip details into one master online itinerary -- even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites
• Automatically include maps, directions and weather in their master itinerary
• Have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities and more right from within the online itinerary
• Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary

Why did we create TripIt?

We are frustrated travelers who have worked in both travel and technology for a long time. We know firsthand that using the Internet to make travel plans and organizing the details is difficult and time consuming. And, the problem is getting worse as more people choose to make their own travel plans and as online travel options continue to proliferate.

As good Silicon Valley residents, we also believe that technology should make life easier, not harder. In October, 2006 we founded TripIt and have made it our mission to simplify the Internet travel experience. We won't bore you with the "gee whiz" technical details of how we do this, but we hope you'll love the results.

We like hearing from you, so feel free to contact us anytime at feedback@tripit.com.
TripIt is based in San Francisco, CA.

Happy Travels,
The TripIt Team

2.  FlightTrack Pro - $9.99 - http://www.mobiata.com/iphone-apps/flighttrack-pro-live-tripit-flight-status-tracker

Not only does FlightTrackPro offer international coverage, gate info, integrate with and update TripIt inineraries, but it also has push alerts (notifications of flight delays or cancellations that alert you even when you don’t have the app open on your phone). FlightTrack gets its data from FlightStats, which bundles info from the FAA and airlines.

From their website you can learn the following:

Just forward your airline confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and flight itineraries from online travel planner TripIt will appear automatically in FlightTrack Pro. Works with over 1000 travel sites!

FlightTrack Pro buzzes your phone to alert you to flight status updates — even when FlightTrack isn’t open and your iPhone or iPod touch is in your pocket!

FlightTrack Pro automatically syncs with TripIt itineraries (including shared itineraries) to keep you up to date on cancellations, delays, gate changes and more. A tap in FlightTrack Pro brings you to your full TripIt itinerary in Safari.

Airport delays and closures, weather forecasts, and current conditions enable you to predict flight issues, before they happen. FlightTrack Pro gives you full access to FAA airport delays and closures for all US airports, which summarize current airport delay status based on real-time conditions.

Building your flight itinerary? You can search and add flights up to 11 months in advance. FlightTrack Pro automatically updates with live flight status info, three days before your flights. Flight cancelled? Use FlightTrack Pro to find alternate flights.

With live international flight tracking maps, you can check flight progress for your friends, family and colleagues at a glance. And live weather radar overlays mean you can predict flight delays and cancellations before they happen. FlightView® live international flight tracker maps are the same maps used by major airports and airlines.

FlightTrack Pro brings you live flight info by FlightStats™, whose international flight coverage was rated #1 by The Wall Street Journal. Track flights in the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, China, India, Japan, South America, and elsewhere.

Need to let someone know about your flight delay, cancellation, or arrival? Tap to share a detailed flight status email, including the most recent flight departure and arrival times, gate numbers, baggage claim, and flight delays and cancellations.

FlightTrack Pro’s revolutionary offline mode gives you access to all your last-known flight details anytime, so you can see last-known airport gate info, arrival/departure times, and connection info, even while on an airplane. (The live flight map does require an Internet connection, though.)

3.  Gate Guru – Free - http://gateguruapp.com/

Are you Ready for the TRAVELution? Imagine a great in-airport experience – welcome to GateGuru!

Do you get frustrated in airports? Not sure where the freshest food is or where the closest gift shops are located? Stuck with a long layover only to have a terrible meal? Walking around aimlessly in hopes of finding a good book for your flight or that last minute souvenir for your loved one? Standing on the security line forever only to find your best food options were pre-security? If you can relate to any of these situations, then GateGuru is for you.

GateGuru is a new tool to transform the chaotic and unfamiliar airport environment into a more satisfying experience before and after flights, and during layovers. GateGuru serves as the leading light to locate the best food, shopping and service options within any airport at the touch of a button. So give GateGuru a try and enjoy your next airport experience.

HISTORY OF GATEGURU

GateGuru was started by Dan Gellert, who spent a significant amount of time in airports in his prior role as a venture capitalist. The more time Dan spent in airports, the more he was amazed at the lack of information available to himself and his fellow travelers, even though so much time and money was spent within airports. One airport experience in particular was the final straw. Flying out of a smaller airport in the Southeast, Dan elected to bypass the pre-security food (hadn’t eaten all day) and shops (needed a gift and a magazine), as he figured there would be plenty of options “on the other side”. Much to his dismay, there was only 1 food option and no shops on the other side of security. The food Dan bought was so bad that it was thrown out after 2 bites, forcing Dan to get on his flight hungry and empty-handed (and extremely frustrated). During that flight, on a soda napkin, Dan crafted the guiding principals of GateGuru, meant to help him and his fellow travelers have a better experience with the billions of hours and dollars that are spent within airports. Leveraging technology. Creating community. Demanding accountability. Empowering travelers.

GATEGURU UNIQUE FEATURES

• Most comprehensive and accurate listing of airport amenities (sortable by Food, Shops and Services).
• Easy-to-use and eye-friendly user interface.
• Access to real-time ratings, reviews and photos – Avoid unappealing airport lounges, shady-looking restaurants or poor service – you deserve better! Quickly and easily locate the highest rated restaurant, shop or service by your fellow travelers.
• Simple search engine – Know your pre or post-security options; what is near your gate; gift stores or ATMs close by; the nearest coffee shop and much more.
• Bookmark function – Easily retrieve tagged information on the restaurants, shops and services you have enjoyed in the past.
• Participate in the leaderboard – Earn points as you utilize GateGuru and improve your ranking among other travelers. Get honored as the “Captain” of your airport locally or nationally. Monitor your ranking versus your Facebook friends.
• Become a Guru – In addition to GateGuru’s interactive online community, update your Twitter and Facebook status with updates, tips and/or reviews as you travel.