Virgin flight tracker now in ITunes.

[Nottingham Nick]

Link to iTunes.

This was announced on facebook a short time ago, but seems to have disappeared.

Not sure if it is same as / better than the V-Flyer tracker but it is free, and it features a link to V-Flyer in the menu. y) .

Its features are explained on the VS website here.

Nick

[mitchja]

Just as shame it doesn't actually work.....

Flying Club section wont log-in.
Aircraft data stops loading when it reaches 97%

[Nottingham Nick]

Works fine for me.
Got my PIN and accessed my Flying Club details, though the balance is a few days out of date.
I can spin the globe and then zoom in on the little planes to get their details.

Nick

Works for me too
Good looking application and lots of info available on clicking the airplane and airport icons.
Will get PIN and try that once the DocRo jnrs are in bed

OK - got my pin and was able to log-in easily. Doesn't bring up my forthcoming flights though as far as I can see and the mileage balance is out of date although it states it is for today.

The spinning globe with the plane icons on it is fabulous but is only showing 9 in the air at present whereas V-Flyer tells me there are 18.

Hi all

Like buses, wait a while then two come at once. We launched two iPhone apps today. One is about speeding up jet lag recovery, the other is a Flight Tracker app with a cute spinny globe. Both should now be on all of Apple's app stores. The jet lag one is £1.19/$1.99 and the Flight Tracker one is free. The flight position data is taken from our ops systems which get ACARS data (bit like satnav) from each aircraft and has a small lag deliberately added for security. E.g. at 21:11 as I write this 7 planes were still in the air. If you do spot any obvious anomalies then plse use the feedback mechanism and tell us. You can also set alerts so you get pinged when aircraft land which should be handy if you are picking up friends at the airport.

I'd like you frequent flyers to have a play with both apps and feedback via the mechanism in the Flight Tracker app or post here. If you do have any probs accessing yr FC accounts via the Flight Tracker app then post a note via the feedback page in the app with yr FC number and my data feed guru will check it out for you.

Additionally, I have some one-time Apple promo codes I can give about 20 of you for the Jet Lag app if you want to save $1.50, thou they are only for US users as Apple don't operate promo codes for other stores incl UK unfortunately. I'll pass the codes to Pete Shaw and he will divvy them out. The algorithm used in the Jet Lag app is new so we'd like your feedback based on real trips which will help the author improve the app.

More on the apps here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/vaa-apps

For the 90%+ of us who don't have an iPhone, some good news coming soon...

rgds
Fergus
Virgin Atlantic, eBusiness

[Nottingham Nick]

A very warm welcome to V-Flyer, Fergus. ^)

Many thanks for the kind offer.

Jetlag isn't something that I am bothered by, but I am sure there will be those who find it useful.

Hope you stick around the site.

Nick

[honey lamb]

Welcome from me too, Fergus and thanks for taking time to drop in and post

[mitchja]

Welcome Fergus.

The app still wont let me log into even though I have a PIN. Facebook app works OK and that uses the same PIN.

I'll report this via the feedback page. The aircraft data also takes a long time to load even using WiFi.

Another slight bug is that when you click the V-Flyer link from the menu, there's no way to get back to the VS app without closing and restarting the app.

James,

When I open V-Flyer from the app it opens within the app and I can return to the Main menu, Globe, Games or Settings from a bottom toolbar.

I only get into the V-Flyer Toolbox however.

James,

When I open V-Flyer from the app it opens within the app and I can return to the Main menu, Globe, Games or Settings from a bottom toolbar.

I only get into the V-Flyer Toolbox however.

[mitchja]

This app now also keeps crashing on my iPhone even after a full iPhone re-boot.

How odd I was wondering the other day if VS was going to launch any apps following the lead by other airlines like BA and Swiss.

I will download the tracker app tomorrow and give it a go.

Fergus, do you guys write the Flying Without Fear app as well or is that licensed about by VS to a third party who have developed it?

[Scrooge]

Oh lord, Fergus is here now oo), now I really have to behave

Hi

Some launch bugs in the Flight tracker app have been fixed so the load speed of the aircraft is much faster and it now shows recent FC account details. Note that to get the refreshed data you need to delete your FC details in the app (in the Settings tab) and re-enter yr data.

rgds
Fergus

[mitchja]

All working here now.

[Bazz]

Hi Fergus and welcome. Speed of the aircraft data load is now much better, I am seeing about a 75% improvement.

On the globe view it was interesting yesterday to see how VS20, 08 and 24 had all deviated from their flight path and were taking a route further south, whether this was to avoid the ash cloud or take advantage of the fast jetstream winds out of Canada I don't know but it was interesting to note the diviation.

Great App!

I love this new app, amazing to see where all the VS planes are in flight. I particularly love the VFlyer link where the photo gallery is organised into sections (is there any way of finding photos of a particular cabin etc. in VFlyer itself, not via the Virgin Flights app, does anyone know?). I'm having slight problems using the photo gallery in VFlyer via this app as it keeps crashing and dumping me out of the app, so that might need a tweak. But overall, fantastic app.

Hi

To answer one of the questions above, the Flying Without Fear app was commissioned by our sister company but written by Mental Workout, a US website/app agency. We liked what they did for the FwF app so supported them creating the Jet Lag app. This app incorporates a new algorithm from Dr Chris Idzikowski, who is well renowned in the sleep/jet lag field.

Ref the flight paths, yes they will reflect the a/c having to take more southerly paths due to the ash cloud. You may have also noticed some diverted flights and positioning flights yesterday e.g. some flights went to STN (Stansted). A future version of the app will include a news section taken from our web site which will make it more useful in times of disruption.

Thanks are due to Pete Shaw who produced the cut down version of the V-Flyer iPhone web site which we are referencing in the app.

One bugette we are chasing down is the occassional "lost flight" - some flights that are in the air are not being listed. We think it is a logic and timing error in the way we identify when planes depart.

Please leave other suggestions by using the feedback mechanism in the app. E.g. we hope to add a proper daily list of all flights with status, as the app currently just displays flights in the air/taxiing/just landed, plus schedule data. Also mobile check-in is coming soon.

If you like the apps, plse give us appropriate star ratings in Apple's App Store review section.

Many thanks
Fergus

Hi

I see the Flight Tracker app has made it into Apple's Top Free listing in the Travel category on iTunes (21/5/10). Great news! We are also up to 3 1/2 stars. Downloads of the app were good before but have jumped dramatically thanks to this. I imagine we will just be in the top spot for a few days till other apps appear, but great to be recognised by Apple. Thanks also for support from you V-Flyer folks for helping us reach this position.

We have also launched a small interim release v1.0.8. It just contains some code changes to speed up the aircraft position downloads and also improve the Flying Club account accuracy. You will need to upgrade to this version to ensure you can still see your FC details in the app. Note that Apple seem to reset the review counter when new versions are released but all the original reviews are still in the full list.

There will probably be one further interim release till V2 hits the streets with mobile check-in. When we are close to this point I'll ask for volunteers from V-Flyer to help beta test the mobile check-in service.

Don't forget we also have our jet lag iPhone app. Well worth trying out on your return from the US West Coast where I see many V-Flyer reps are at the moment.

rgds
Fergus

[Bazz]

Hi

...One bugette we are chasing down is the occassional "lost flight" - some flights that are in the air are not being listed. We think it is a logic and timing error in the way we identify when planes depart...

Fergus

ooh, I feel a sequel coming on, not like Richard to miss a marketing opportunity, LOL.

"LOST - The Virgin Atlantic episodes"

Hi all

Version 2 of our Flight Tracker iPhone app is now live in the Apple app store. The main difference is the addition of check-in and seat selection (using our mobile.virginatlantic website) plus a better display of flight status. There are a few other enhancements like links to destination videos from vtravelled and improved navigation.

Enjoy.

rgds
F

Just updated it - looking good.

Miss Behavin' been miss behaving though?

[Darren Wheeler]

Fergus, thanks for the info.

I'll have a play a bit later and see how I get on.

The logo looks soooo blurry on iPhone 4