Enter the carrier name, departure date and the flight number or the arrival/departure airport code. And then enter your Twitter and/or Facebook credentials. Now, at almost every hour your flight status will be updated along with a link to a map showing your current location. A good service to let your friends and family keep a track of you when you are flying.

Features::

• Update your Twitter and Facebook status while you are traveling.
• A free service by Lufthansa airlines.
• Enter carrier name, departure date and flight number to get started.
• Status updates also include a link to a map that shows your exact location.

Check out MySkyStatus @ www.myskystatus.com (by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

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• SocialStatusGenerator: Create Catchy Status Messages
• Generatus: Cool Facebook Status Message Generator
• FlightCaster: Helps You Avoid Air Travel Delays
• Txtful: Provides Shortcuts For Gettting Things Done Online
• Trazzler: Get Unique Travel Destination Recommendations

The application uses a patent-pending algorithm that will search for data on every domestic flight for the past 10-years and match it to real-time conditions. It provides you with the probability of delay, the estimated departure and arrival times along with the delay factors.

FlightCaster is currently limited to US domestic flights. Apart from its website, which is free to use, it also features an iPhone and Blackberry app for $4.99.

Features:

• Predicts flight delays.
• Indicates the probability of flight being delayed, the estimated departure and arrival times along with factors for the delay.
• Currently the service is limited to US domestic flights.
• FlightCaster advises to use its service 4-6 hours before your flight for the best results.
• Similar websites: DelayCast.

Check out FlightCaster @ www.flightcaster.com (by Srikanth AD from Techonaut )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• MySkyStatus: Auto-updates Your Flight Status on Twitter & Facebook
• FlightWait: Avoid Delays In Airports
• ArrivedOK: Sends Flight Arrival Notifications to Your Friends
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Xm.my: Create Short Map Links for Any Location

The site also has a paid subscription option which lets you watch HD shuttle launch videos.

Features:

• Comprehensive coverage of latest space missions around the globe.
• Shuttle launch schedule with up-to-the-minute updates.
• Follow mission updates on Twitter.
• Get SpaceFlightNow Plus subscription to watch the shuttle launch videos.

Check out SpaceFlightNow @ www.spaceflightnow.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• ThisDayInTech: Historical Tech Events Calendar From Wired
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru

Just sign up, create a list of people to notify and how to notify them (SMS, email, Twitter). When you land at the airport, you just turn on your phone and the people in your list are automatically notified.

Service works in all countries with cellphones that support GSM standard. (Note: Currently notifications by SMS are not available for US And Chinese mobile users. For the time being, only email notifications.)

The application is free while in beta. I also got an email from founder stating that after a full launch there will be ad supported free account option as well.

Features:

• Sends flight arrival notifications.
• SMS, email or Twitter notifications can be send.
• Create a list of people to notify, when you arrive just turn on your phone and the recipients are instantly notified.
• Available for users in all countries. GSM networks only.
• Free and easy to use.

Check out ArrivedOk @ www.arrivedok.mobi

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• MySkyStatus: Auto-updates Your Flight Status on Twitter & Facebook
• FlightCaster: Helps You Avoid Air Travel Delays
• Alerts.com: Get Alerts for Stuff you Want to be Notified About
• Zlert : Get Alerts From Amazon

All flight data is shown with an easy to understand color coded lines: Black, Red, Yellow and Green. Each color representing particular delay time.

Green 0-15 minutes
Yellow 16-59 minutes
Red 1-2 hours
Black > 2 hours

Works really easy, simply enter an area zip code, departure city or the relevant airport code and click on “Find” button. Then all available flight data for that airport will be nicely presented on the map. Furthemore, you can view delays for all other airports and see historical delays.

You may also want to check similar flight delay information providers that we have profiled earlier. These are: DelayCast and Traveas.

Check out FlightWait @ www.flightwait.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

And in case you have already found a flight, you can submit that flight information and let him check whether your deal is the cheapest one.

Since Nico does it all manually it may take up to 24 hours before he sends you an email. You can check fares for any flights, both domestic and international, regardless of where you live.

For example I searched for a Los Angeles -> New York flight and found one with Virgin America for 126$ on Expedia.com. I sent an email to LetMeBook to see if he can find anything cheaper. And voila, Nico found the same flight for 119$ on priceline.com. Pretty cool.

Below is a screanshot of the Nico’s email that landed in my inbox

Features:

• Human-powered cheap flights searcher.
• Find the cheapest airfare between two locations.
• Check if there are any cheaper deals for your flight.
• Get response within 24 hours or less.
• Results sent to your email.
• No registration. Free.

Check out LetMeBook @ www.letmebook.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

It also shows an airport map and which flights are expected to be delayed.

Features:

• Get flight arrival and departure times for any airport worldwide.
• Simple and easy to use .
• No sign up needed
• Filter flights by time range.
• Setup mobile alerts.

Check out FlyTime @ www.flytime.co.cc

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

How it works :

Step 1 You can enter the source and destination city airports to start with. It has an autocomplete feature to help you with the exact information. You can also select the travel date.

Step 2 Choose the flight you’d like to track and click on the track button to track it.

Step 3 Select what kind of flight information you’d like to get in your mobile phone.

Step 4 Track the information by sending an SMS in the given format to the specified cellphone number. That’s it. You can now get alerts on your cellphone.

Check out Traveas @ www.traveas.com ( Contributed by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

Features:

• Check airport and flights related info from your iPhone or any web enabled mobile device.
• See security wait times, traffic and delays, weather condition and maps.
• Supports 420 airports across US
• No sign up or registration needed.
• Also see Traveas for tracking and checking flight information.

Check out ASApp @ www.wheretraveler.com/mobile/asapp

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

Each seatmap shows seats clearly marked with legends and when clicked shows seat reviews including pros and cons. You can browse seatmaps by airline and plane types.

Overall it’s a useful website, especially for those who travel a lot. Give it a try next time you’re booking a flight. SeatGuru is another such website.

Features:

• Check out airline seatmaps and charts and discover best places to seat.
• 370 seatmaps for 60 major airlines are available.
• Get detailed review with pros and cons for each position.
• Search and browse seatmaps by airline and their planes.
• Also see photos for VIP lounges, premium cabins, gourmet meals etc.
• No sign-up or registration needed.

Check out SeatExpert @ www.seatexpert.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

To get started, go ahead and sign-up for an account. Once you’re in you can begin adding your flight routes. At the end of it you should be able to view that flight data on the map along with the stats. The map can be shared with others as well. You can even request a high quality poster of it (not free).

Features:

• Flight mapping: Keep track of where, when and how you have flown.
• See flight routes, total time in the air, distance flown, and aircraft and airline types.
• Make your flight data public and share it with others.
• Order a high quality poster map showing your flights (non free)
• Encyclopedia that contains important terms related to airports, flights and airlines.

Go to FlightMemory @ www.flightmemory.com

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Fuelly: Track, Share and Compare your Gas Mileage
• Charts: Track and Chart any Data from your iPhone
• ZapTXT: Get Website Updates to your email, SMS, IM or RSS
• Yotify.com: Stay Notified About Content You Are Interested In
• YawnLog: Online Sleep Tracker

The results are ranked based on 3 factors such as comfort, speed and ease. These are further subdivided into things like security wait time, number of stops, legroom, connection time, aircraft type, gate location, baggage loss rate and so on.

When searching for flights you can specify which of those are important to you and let InsideTrip find the best flights for your needs. The results are ranked from the most to least convenient one (see this in the above screenshot).

Features:

• Find the best flight for your needs.
• Filter results further by depart/arrival time, connection waiting duration, airline and airport.
• Criteria: Number of stops, Travel duration, On-time stats, Security wait time, Legroom, Aircraft type, Aircraft age, Historical load factor, Connect time, Routing quality, Lost bags rank and Gate location.

Check out InsideTrip @ www.insidetrip.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

Features :

• Check out flight delay estimates before booking a flight.
• Airports: Departure and arrival predictions made for the top 60 airports in the United States.
• Currently supported airlines: Southwest, Northwest, JetBlue, America, American, Eagle, Continental, America, West, Delta, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, United and AirTran.
• Free. No-registration required.

Note: All flight delay predictions on DelayCast.com are produced by the models and thus aren’t 100% accurate. Nevertheless, the additional insight provided beyond the airlines schedules should come in handy for most of the travelers.

Visit DelayCast @ www.delaycast.com [via Lifehacker]

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

TheAirDB – Feature List

• Search or browse airports and airlines by region (Europe, Asia, Africa etc.)
• Currently profiles over 2000 airports and airlines worldwide.
• For each airport: map view, phone number, website, all airlines that use the airport, destinations airlines fly to, nearby airports and more. Ex. New York, JFK International Airport.
• For each airline: airline details and statistics, airline website, list of all currently used airports and more. Ex. Delta Airlines.

Check out AirDB @ www.theairdb.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

NYTimes Review: “I have become addicted to the site (my screensaver is now one of their “Vintage Meal Pics” – a 1950’s photo of a well-dressed couple on a Braniff International flight to South America taken from the aisle by a photographer named Brooke). I check the site’s media links daily for airline news to see which carriers are making the most horrendous cutbacks.”

Features

• Browse airline meals by Airline name (British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airways, …). Over 500 airlines in total.
• See which airlines offer special meals, i.e. vegeterian, children, seafood, diabetics, medical, and ethnic (helal, kosher,
  hindu).
• See ‘Meals of the week’ item.
• Behind scenes of airline catering: Who, How and Where companies that supply airlines with meals prepare their food.
• Get feedback on food in airport restaurants and airline lounges.
• Contribute: Add your airline meal and feedback to the gallery.
• Over 18,821 images from 536 airlines.
• Meals from the past: Check out meal pictures from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

Visit AirlineMeals @ [www.airlinemeals.net]

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• UEatCheap: Find Cheap Buffet Restaurants in Your Area
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru

“For travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to skim a few bucks off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport? Many airports are actually better than local lodging. And to top it off – IT’S FREE! Your friends and family may look at you funny when you return with your airport stories, but that’s only part of the fun.”

Overview

• Browse airports by regions: Europe, North America, Central & South America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific.
• Also see Top 10 & Worst 10 airports to stay in, and Best of the Week.
• Reviews: Over 5000 airport reviews, submitted by real travelers.
• Extras: airport sleeping tips, photos, airport funnies, etc.

Check out SleepingInAirports @ www.sleepinginairports.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

User Testimonial: “I finally feel like I have peace of mind to buy airline tickets at any time! You guys have saved me $264 so far this year and I have a feeling that you’ll save me even more before the end of it!”

Yapta Features

• Track flight ticket prices and receive email notifications as soon as price changes.
• Browser add-on that lets you easily bookmark flights (add to Yapta) that you find on popular airline or travel website (i.e. Expedia).
• Supported Airlines: AirTran Airways, Alaska, American, ATA Airlines, Continental, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Midwest, United, US Airways / America West.
• More Questions? Check out Yapta FAQ section here.

Yapta in the News:

Go to Yapta (www.yapta.com)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

CryoFinders Features

• Wordlwide airport flights Arrival and Departure information.
• View current weather conditions for any airport.
• Stay up-to-date on real-time airport delays and security waiting times.
• Search for airports by city, or browse by country name (alphabetically).
• For each airport view: location on the map, arrivals, departures, weather, and security waiting times (limited).

Go to CryoFinders [http://www.cryofinders.com]

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

SeatGuru: “In October 2001 frequent flyer Matthew Daimler launched SeatGuru.com with a single color-coded interactive airplane seating chart. Having realized the vast differences between airline seats, he was determined to build a repository of this useful information and share it with other travelers. Over ten million visitors later, SeatGuru has enjoyed incredible success and has expanded to over 275 airplane seatmaps from over 40 different airlines.”

Go to SeatGuru [www.seatguru.com]

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
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• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher