Flightstats-Travel Resource

Donna Boley | 23 June 2008 |

Have you ever risked your life rushing to the airport only to find out when you arrived that your flight was late? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone called your cell phone and said, “Hey dude, slow down. Your flight is 45 minutes late”?

If you want to know if an arriving flight is on time for a friend or relative you’re picking up, wouldn’t it be nice if they called you and said, “Oh by the way, I’m late by 45 minutes and you don’t need to take off work to get me at the airport”? Unfortunately, they are still in the air and can’t call you. While internet flight status reports and real-time flight tracking are not new, you can now set up alerts to call your cell phone and/or e-mail yourself or others regarding changes to your flight.

One of my responsibilities at Blizzard Internet Marketing is to make travel arrangements for the numerous speaking engagements and trade shows Trent Blizzard attends all around the country. While away on a trip recently, he called to tell me he was running late and there was NO WAY he was going to make his flight. He asked if I would I check out options for other departing flights and see if… Just then, we both heard the sound of a text message being received. “The flight gods are with me!” Trent exclaimed, as he checked the phone message. The text message informed him his flight would be 45 minutes late, so he had just enough time to make it. What a relief!

Trent then wondered if he would make his connecting flight. So, I went to my favorite real time, on-line flight-tracking source, Flightstats , and entered his connecting flight number and date. Indeed, it was a lucky day. His connecting flight had another perfect 45-minute delay!

This flight tracker site has an array of helpful features, including flight availability by route, airport parking, historical flight ratings and airport delays. My favorite feature on flightstats.com is the simple to use flight alert. This free online application monitors flights and sends informational messages to e-mail enabled devices and cell phones. You receive flight alert messages in the event of a cancellation, diversion or delay greater than 30 minutes.

After logging in, go to Travel Tools and enter the airline, flight number and date of departure. Alert messages include:

Status confirmation up to 3 hours prior to departure.
Notification if the flight is delayed by more than 30 minutes.
Notification if the flight is cancelled or diverted.
Arrival notification when the flight lands.

If you select Departure Alert Messages, you receive a status update prior to departure and a flight departure alert. I f you select Arrival Alert Messages, you receive a message when the flight arrives at its destination. What great customer service!

I’m always looking for smarter ways to travel, so if you have any great travel tips, please share them with me and our readers in the comments area. Thanks!