Flight tracking apps have been popular on iOS for as long as the platform had the App Store, and this fall Apple is baking a key function of those apps right into the operating system. A little known feature called ‘flights data detector’ is included in both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan but was not highlighted on stage during Apple’s WWDC keynote. As one Reddit user highlighted, the feature lets iOS automatically detect when text is referencing a flight and allows users to actually check on the flight’s status and progress with an attractive interface. Here’s how it works on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac…
To start, type both the airline and flight number including the number sign into a text field (example: US Airways #654). I used a blank text field in the new Notes app for my example. After typing each airline and flight number, iOS 9 automatically recognized the data format as an existing flight and created an actionable link out of the text. The same method works across the system, including iMessages, text messages from Messages, and email in Mail. The same functionality should also be available from emails containing itineraries from airlines.
Long pressing a single finger over one of these actionable links created from airline and flight number text on iOS 9 brings up options to either Preview Flight or Copy the text. This works in either landscape or portrait mode across the system. Tapping Preview Flight will prompt the system to present the flight previewing and tracking feature. On OS X El Capitan, the Preview Flight feature is activated by Force Touching rather than long pressing, or hovering the mouse cursor over the text entry and selecting the drop down menu next to the dashed outline around the text. In some apps like Messages, the links are clickable and do not require long pressing or Force Touching.
Once activated, iOS 9 and El Capitan’s new flight data detector feature presents a few key items about the relevant flight in focus. As you can see, the flight preview screen displays important data including the specific flight’s airline, flight number, and even flight status including ‘on time’, ‘early’, and ‘landed’. The view also providers the city of the airport as well as its official abbreviation, such as JFK or SAN. Matched with this is the flight’s departure or arrival terminal. Finally, the flight preview status shows when the flight actually departed down to the minute, as well as when it’s expected to arrive. If a flight was delayed, the preview displays this information as well. Above all of this is a mapped view of the flight’s path and how far along the journey it is.
The new flight status lookup feature matches Apple’s focus on Proactive search across iOS and both platforms’ new transit maps support. The flights data detector feature may not be as fully featured as ones found in popular apps such as FlightBoard for iOS, but it will likely be popular with frequent travelers when iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan are released this fall.
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For your clicking pleasure:
Jet Blue #351
Delta #2182
US Airways #654
Good thought :)
Not sure if it’s ever reported, but El Capitan and iOS 9 also does the same with package tracking. Most (if not all) shipment tracking numbers will have the popup.
I must be doing something wrong but I can’t get any of this to work on iOS 9 on my phone. Perhaps because I am on public beta?
I am not getting it to work on IOS 9 beta 5 either.
Yay, it’s not just me! ;-)
I finally got it. After typing it in hit done. Had to try it a few times for some strange reason.
Great, but asking Siri “What is the status of US Airways flight 654” just performs a normal web search via Bing, there’s no sign this new flight tracking interface. Maybe not implemented for voice yet?
Three-finger-touch on OS X works as well. No selecting needed.
This should be integrated with both Spotlight and Siri.
No love for Southwest :-(
Southwest works but I have noticed you have to put airlines with the word. Southwest airlines #2412
Yep, trying “Virgin Atlantic VS75” gets nothing, but “Virgin Atlantic #75” works. Apple needs to integrate this with Siri and make it a bit more flexible in how it recognises flight details.
If you know the airlines IATA prefix you can eliminate the # and spelling out the airline.
DL – Delta
AA – American
WN – Southwest
VX – Virgin America
UA – United Airlines
Since both Jet Blue (B6) and Frontier (F9) have numbers in their prefix they have to be spelled out.
There are still some bugs in this. If a flight number is used twice for two different flights by an airline the data shows the departing city as the first departing city of the day and the arrivals city as the last arrivals of the day.
Example. Try out AA50 (yes you can shorthand the flight data like that)
American Airlines has two flights each day under AA50:
STL-DFW and then DFW-LHR
When pulled up with iOS 9 the flight is shown as STL-LHR. So they need to do some work around that.
Hm, It did work here with El Capitan, latest public beta, but a litte bit different: The flight does not appear as a link (used the Notes app), but a right-klick on it makes the flight informations available.
Another bug, apparently there is a new airport in London called Hounslow, (should be Heathrow, only one of the most busiest airports on the planet…) which would be like flying to JFK.. but flight says you going to Brooklyn
Of course it isn’t working in countries other than Western Europe and US. Apple doesn’t care about he rest of us.
Hmm, I don’t see that on El Capitan – at least not here in Safari. It works in Notes, thanks! Ever since I started using the Mac on Snow Leopard, I have been using the Dashboard widget to check flight status, and showed that to my kids to track my flights. So I have never missed that on OS X, but a great thing to have to just click right from the text of it, and in iOS too.
At what point does apple start building these hidden features out to small applets a la stocks and weather?