updated: 22 July 2017
Having the right App on your phone and all the needed information loaded can really make a difference on any trip. Flight Delay and Gate Change notifications can save uneeded hustling at an Airport, and let you spend extra time in the lounge or shopping for travel gifts. Your car can be confirmed and waiting at the Arrivals gate, and you will know you exactly what everything costs. Just takes a bit of preparation before you leave. There are endless Apps to help with travel, below are a few we use and think you should too.
Blacklane
We love this service. Especially when your arriving in a new city after a 15 hour flight, nothing better than having someone there to meet and greet and get you to your hotel. And the Business Class pricing is not that expensive, and works so much better than Uber Black.
Blacklane provides professional ground transportation at the most competitive rates in more than 50 countries, 250 cities, and at over 500 airports around the globe. Whether traveling for business or leisure, book our black car chauffeur service as your next shuttle transfer from the airport, hotel, or event, and skip the taxi lines.
For your convenience, we’ve created an app that allows you to book, pay for, manage, and view upcoming and past black car chauffeured rides.
easier to do initial set-up and reservations online here: Blacklane
MyTaxi
Our goto App when in non-Uber/Ride Share countries like Germany, Denmark, and now Italy. Does everything the Ride Share Apps do, but gets you a Taxi. You can pay online or with cash, your choice after that. Simple and easy.
Order a taxi now or book in advance through Europe’s largest taxi app – with one simple tap! With 10 million downloads in over 50 cities, mytaxi is the trusted taxi app for safe, quick and easy journeys across the UK and Ireland. Track your driver’s arrival in real time and share your trip details with friends and family so they know when you’ve arrived safely.
Better Taxi
A MyTaxi alternative, we have not tried it yet, but appears to be similar.
Convenient, cheap and reliable taxi rides and airport transfers – Better Taxi offers spontaneous city rides and the possibility of pre-bookings at fixed price internationally.
Taxi, shuttle, chauffeur service, airport transfer, airport taxi, limo, private hired vehicle, minicab, MinCar, CityCar, YellowCab, taxibus … “There are countless names and differences in service levels from local suppliers. Better Taxi brings overview and transparency in the offers. Three service categories – with well-defined binding minimum standards – simplifies the comparison and provides maximum availability. Better taxi cooperates with the best local taxi companies and private hired vehicle companies. Safe, comfortable and reliable rides can hence be offered internationally. BetterTaxi provides the supra-regional platform while the local taxi companies remain your local contacts.
Uber
Still the most used Ride-Share, and good all over most of the world. Of course, the US has many other options… but probably best to at least have Uber due to it’s international reach
Didi / 滴滴出行
But, going to China, better have Didi 滴滴出行 on you phone as well. And the interface is now in English.
Whether you are traveling from point A to B or needing pick-up from the airport, DiDi is the #1 travel choice for over 300 million users across 400 cities in China, offering multiple car services anytime, anywhere. You can request rides and pay with your phone with ease.
DiDi is the world’s largest comprehensive one-stop mobile transportation platform. As a practitioner in the sharing economy initiative, DiDi is committed to working with communities and its partners to solve China’s transportation, environmental and employment challenges using big data-driven deep-learning algorithms that optimize resource allocation.
Curb The Taxi App
Very useful in New York City, paying your taxi from the phone is quite easy with this.
Even if you don’t travel, these Apps are basic necessities on anyones phone.
Google Translate
Great for all occasions and the camera translation is great for menus. Free and it just gets better with every update. And if there is a country you are going to, download the offline image dictionary before your trip.
• Text translation: Translate between 103 languages by typing
• Offline: Translate with no internet connection (52 languages)
• Instant camera translation: Translate text in images instantly by just pointing your camera (30 languages)
XE Currency (Free)
All the world’s currencies at your fingertips! This Pro version of the XE Currency App is not only third party ad free, it also provides live exchange rates and charts, you can also set an XE Rate Alert to monitor your favorite currencies for immediate notification.
Seat Guru
One of the essential online services for finding a great seat. It does barrage you with sales things, but there is good information here. You can find better flight deals elsewhere. We use use this when booking a flight before we start a trip and find the seat that’s jsut right. But for you Economy flyers, it has a big flaw of not letting you know properly where the IFE box is stuffed to restrict your legroom, which would make it a great service.
Culture Trip
One of our new favorite services to get to really know a city you are visiting. Smaller more interesting neighborhoods and places that the locals would go. Local culture rather than sightseeing. Still a bit new so has a ways to grow.
Our easy-to-use travel app brings you the most inspiring cultural stories and unknown recommendations from passionate in-the-know locals and in-house journalists, all in one place.
From Mexico City to Manchester, we’ve got tons of insider secrets to help you discover the exciting and intriguing in your neighborhood or around the world. Whether you are seeking out bookstores in your hometown, looking to learn more about the traditions of a location or searching for the best markets to browse whilst on vacation, Culture Trip will ensure you have the best local travel inspiration around.
Priority Pass
This is the App for what is an essential service for just about anyone who travels. For those who do not have a Premium Credit Card, this is a service you will need to purchase. But essential for any traveller who needs a pleasant break during connection or waiting for that flight to board.
Designed to help Priority Pass Members find an airport lounge anytime, anywhere, this FREE app searches our database of over 1000 lounges worldwide and its enhanced functionality improves user experience.
Users can search for a lounge by typing the name of a city, country or airport or simply scroll through lists. Rate lounges, save lounges as favourites, see recent searches and activate GPS to find your nearest lounge quickly.
Lounge Buddy
We don’t use Lounge Buddy, but several of our contributors do.
LoungeBuddy is the only App that makes it possible for all travelers to view, book, and access airport lounges around the world in seconds. From the casual traveler in economy to the seasoned elite road warrior, LoungeBuddy will help you make the most of your time at the airport. It’s time you experienced travel – in style.
Momondo
This has turned into our Favorite Fare Price checker… even for Business or First Class. Any fare that we find, we double check on Momondo, and it scours all the resellers, and ususally finds something (if it is available). We have been able to get Business Class at a 7% discount quite often, so worth a look. And for the Dirt Cheap or Error Fares it finds who has them quickly and effieiciently. Better to use the websites from a standard computer though.
go here to use the main website: Momondo
You need to have the airlines you are fly on your phone. A last minute gate change alone will prove this to be true. And be a good traveler, and get the App on your phone and input all the essential info you need before you start the trip. Early check-in at your fingertips, flight delay messeges sent to your phone, and that last minute seat change can be made so seemlessly, if you arrive prepared.
Above are just a few direct Airline App links.
have an suggestion, addition or correction, please let us know:
Make Contact with The Fussy Flyer
Also go to our Travel Services & Stuff page for more information:
Travel Services (and stuff) We Love, We Like, We Use
