App in the Air closes. Too bad it was a faithful travel companion, few alternatives

When I talk about products here at TFC I always (and only) do so after I have tried them on my own skin. It doesn't matter if it's the suitcase that I use for my travels, my eSIM provider favorite or the technology I carry with me: I'm talking about what I find useful because I think it is useful for others as well and not simply because I get paid to do it, in fact in a great many cases I talk about products and then get contacted by manufacturers to make deals as in the case of ExpressVPN I have been using since 2014 and not since the day before yesterday.

App in the Air I discovered it thanks to my friend Stan., very long-time frequent flyer and first also to give me the "bad" news of the final closure of the app of tracking that had a place of honor on my home screen on my phone for two years. It was an ending I thought would come, too few updates and too many bugs in recent months, with little or no response from the team.

App in the air closes, here's the message

It is with a heavy heart that we inform our community of aviation enthusiasts, frequent flyers and globe trotters that our journey together is coming to an end. Despite our efforts to juggle an ever-changing and difficult business environment, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our services. As of September 19, 2024, our app will no longer be available in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Samsung Galaxy Store. Customers will be able to access and export their data until October 19, 2024.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to you, our community of loyal customers and fans, for your unwavering support during our journey together that has lasted more than a decade. Your passion for aviation and your belief in our app have meant the world to us. It has been an honor to serve you and we are incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. Additional details regarding some of the questions you may have are available below.

We also want to take this moment to recognize and thank our co-founders and dedicated development team, whose hard work, sacrifices, and commitment have made possible our more than 20,000 reviews on the app store, numerous industry awards, and coverage in major publications worldwide. Their contributions have been invaluable in providing the best experience for our users.

We hope that the memories created and connections made will continue to inspire your love of aviation.

Exporting data and requesting refunds

My 2024 is currently clocking 424 hours in the air and just under 290k km flown. As you can see in June I did not take a single flight, while in May I exceeded 20 in one month. All "valuable" data and which I hope will not be lost.

The developers have added a final Function that allows the user to export their historical data saved in the app, so they can eventually be imported into alternative products. For those who recently bought a subscription through the various stores, it is also possible to request a cancellation of the unused period.

No refund for those who opted for "lifetime" because the T&Cs in this case are clear. The subscription lasts for the lifetime of the customer (or the App).

Alternatives to App in the Air

There are not many, in fact there are very few. One is for sure Tripit, but I have never used it. The other one is Flighty which does not exist for Android users, however, and which I just downloaded.

The developers of this app, which is very similar to and perhaps even more comprehensive than App in the Air, have already set to work to enable the import function and allow the move, of iOS users to this app that is free in the basic version and then chargeable if you want to unlock the various features.

Of course I will try it for a few flights and then give my usual honest review.