[April 04, 2012]

Dozens of U.S. Airports Answer the Call for Mobile Content as Demand Soars

U.S. airports are rolling out mobile technology at record rates as the market for smartphones and media tablets continues to explode. Less than three months into the year, FlightView, the go-to source for mobile technology in the travel industry, had added 10 more major airports to its rapidly growing list of mobile customers. These new airports include: Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, Dane County Regional Airport, Dayton International Airport, Eastern Iowa Airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Lehigh Valley International Airport, Lincoln Airport, Mammoth Airport, Nashville International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

"Our customers have expected fast access to actionable flight information for years, but now, with the number of travelers carrying internet-enabled devices, expectations are at an all-time high," said Susan Kittle, Director of External Affairs, Lehigh Valley International Airport. "FlightView provides an easy and cost-effective way to keep our customers informed on arrivals and departures, parking availability, terminal maps and more via the mobile Web - giving us a clear advantage over our neighboring airports."

Gartner (News - Alert) projects that the global smartphone and media tablet market will increase to more than 1 billion units by 2015, and travel research firm PhoCusWright says nearly 75 percent of business travelers own a smart phone today. Since frequent business travelers account for a significant percentage of every airport's revenue, the argument for implementing mobile offerings is crystal clear.

"Mobile users represent more than 50 percent of our travelers, so it is essential that we put the right strategy and technologies in place to meet their needs," said Brent McHenry, Directo of Marketing, Dane County Regional Airport. "We're all about customer service, and our new mobile website gives our customers an easy way to plan ahead and take control on their day-of-travel."

Airports Look to Take Mobile Capabilities to New Heights

Demand for mobile websites has grown steadily over the past 2 years. FlightView projects that more than 60 U.S. airports already have some form of mobile content available or in development. To stay ahead, airports must go beyond offering basic airport content to provide travelers with the latest day-of-travel mobile capabilities and integration.

"Every airport needs to offer some form of mobile content to their travelers, whether it comes in the form of a native app or website," said Mike Benjamin, CEO of FlightView. "As mobile becomes the norm, airports must continue to innovate their mobile capabilities to better serve their travelers and stand apart from competitors."

The hottest new mobile development trend for airports - according to FlightView - is social media integration, which enables travelers to easily share their flight's status with friends and family via Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter. Along with keeping the people picking travelers up from the airport informed, social integration offers free visibility for airports by mentioning the airport's name in every Tweet and status update. This extra awareness is especially valuable for small and mid-sized airports that compete with the nation's larger travel hubs.

With a 30-year track record of providing airports and airlines with reliable flight information, FlightView is in a unique position to help airports quickly implement mobile solutions. The company's already-built mobile framework is tailored specifically to deal with the nuances of flight tracking and is a cost-effective and proven alternative to third-party Web developers. FlightView's own mobile website and travel apps, available on the Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm, are the leading and most highly trusted smart phone native apps for more than one million users nationwide.

About FlightView

FlightView is the leading provider of accurate, real-time flight information solutions for the aviation and travel industries. FlightView was started in 2008 when CEO Mike Benjamin brought a new management and technology team to RLM Software, the first recipient of the ASDI (FAA radar) data feed and long-time consultant to the FAA. With a new focus on delivering actionable flight information across the full range of media platforms, FlightView was born. Since then, FlightView's customer list has grown to include over 120 Airports, several major and mid-sized airlines and other travel related customers who employ FlightView information in digital displays, Web and mobile sites, native apps, and other uses. FlightView mobile products were launched starting in 2009 and our native apps for the iPhone, Android (News - Alert), Blackberry and Palm platforms have logged over 1M downloads. FlightView is located in Boston Massachusetts. To learn more, please visit FlightView.com.

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