T+L's Top Travel Apps 2010

Air Travel

Research airline schedules

With the most comprehensive flight database, eSkyGuide from T+L’s parent company, American Express, gives you the full schedule for all flights along a particular route, including ones that are sold out (so you can try for standby). It also identifies the airport nearest to tourist destinations or addresses and offers up-to-the-minute status reports on delays and weather, along with contact information for airlines.

Cost: $4.99.

Runs On: iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch.

Check your flight status

FlightTrack Pro gives you a flight’s departure time, current speed, altitude, location, and odds for an on-time arrival. Most important, you can share flight information with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail, which is useful if someone’s coming to pick you up at the airport. Just enter an airline and flight number, choose by route, or simply sync the service with your TripIt itineraries (see above), and Flight Track will send you the latest updates, including gate status and delays.

Cost: $4.99; $9.99 for the Pro version, which adds more real-time information.

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch.

Make the most of a layover

No more lugging around heavy carry-ons in unfamiliar airport terminals looking for a healthy snack, newspaper stand, or ATM. Gate Guru lists all the businesses near your gate—along with user ratings, reviews, pictures, and maps—in 100 airports around the world.

Cost: Free.

Runs On: iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch (Android and BlackBerry versions coming later this year).