Mobiata pares its FlightTrack suite to a single paid app, says it's working to make up for losing Tripit sync

Even if you've previously bought FlightTrack and FlightTrack Pro, you'll have to pony up again for this new app

Mobiata's FlightTrack app has long been a go-to app for frequent fliers myself included. But it's always been a rather complicated affair. There was the original FlightTrack, which cost $4.99. TheFlightTrack Pro download added the ability to sync with Tripit (which manages multiple itineraries with ease), but that cost another $4.99. And then the app largely remained unchanged over the years, as far as design was concerned. Loads of functionality, but it was looking stale.

Then in August 2012, Mobiata introduced FlightTrack Free. As the name implies, it cost nothing and it brought a much improved app design. But it didn't sync with Tripit, which made a non-starter for many frequent fliers.

Now, we've got FlightTrack5. A single app, which can be yours for another $2.99. But gone is the Tripit integration. Instead, you'll have to input flights manually, one at a time. The app does recognize when two legs are part of the same trip and links them together, which is good. But having to add four or six flights at a time is annoying and well worth a few extra bucks to those of us that have to do frequently.

The good news is if you have the original FlightTrack (and FlightTrack Pro) installed, they'll continue to work. Also, Mobiata says it's working to make up for the missing functionality.

In a recent blog post, a Mobiata "user happiness lead" wrote,

With the launch of FlightTrack 5 today, some of you expressed surprise about the new apps lack of a TripIt integration feature. We share your frustration. Although we built and tested TripIt integration during FlightTrack 5s development, we have not been given the necessary permission to enable this feature in the app. As a result, we are exploring our options and considering alternatives so that you can continue to easily import flights into the app.

Other features worth mentioning in the new app: You can tag individual travelers from your contacts, see if a plane has Wifi, push trips to your calendar and zoom in on approximate locations on the map.

More: Mobiata blog

Via: Mobiata pares its FlightTrack suite to a single paid app, says it's working to make up for losing Tripit sync