3 ms·

I use the Flighty app pretty often, and its $60/year.

by nemothekid 7mo ago

friendzis 7mo ago
The app is mac/i os-only, though.
- halapro 7mo ago
  How's this related to anything?
  - friendzis 7mo ago
    It means it's strictly unavailable for ~80% of people out there on Windows/Linux/Android?
    - simonklitj 7mo ago
      Yes, but the question is how it makes money, not whether it could make more money by expanding into other OS’s.
    - ymolodtsov 7mo ago
      I've seen many developers who released the same app on both iOS and Android and realized that Apple platforms still provide them with 80% of revenue for 20% of users. Not that many people on Android are willing to pay $60 for an app.
      - ipsento606 7mo ago
        Developing for Android is also a much worse developer experience than developing for iOS, because there are thousands of devices to support, and much greater stratification of operating system customizations and older versions. https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/ is just one example of the kind of problems app developers face on Android
        xd1936 7mo ago
        Yeah, iOS would never kill an app in the background to try and save battery
        kelvinjps10 7mo ago
        IOS it's work at killing apps that android. Some software manufacturers in android allow you to bypass it in the settings.
    - ohhman11 7mo ago
      >It means it's strictly unavailable for ~80% of people out there on Windows/Linux/Android? Those platforms don't generate revenue
    - AdamN 7mo ago
      It's a business - they're targeting revenues. Making it multi-platform would take alot of effort and the value just isn't there for them right now. The smart move is for them to become awesome on iOS (maybe they're close?) and then create an Android CX. BTW, them being iOS-only means they're probably getting lots of marketing support from Apple and other perks. That can really help a startup.
    - halapro 7mo ago
      Ok, post that as a top comment, it's completely irrelevant to the comment that it replied to. Like GP, I'm also a paid subscriber and I couldn't care less where else it's available. If anything, it being a native app rather than a multiplatform JS wrapper is a plus to me.
    - MajimasEyepatch 7mo ago
      That’s true globally, but in the US, iPhones are 60% of the smartphone market. In the US, iPhone users are also younger, more affluent, more educated, and I suspect more likely to fly than Android users. iOS users also dominate in app spending. And from a practical standpoint, 93% of iPhone users are on the latest version of iOS within six months, compared to 20% of Android users, which is huge when it comes to development costs. Source: https://adapty.io/blog/iphone-vs-android-users/ https://adapty.io/blog/iphone-vs-android-users/
  - 9935c101ab17a66 7mo ago
    Right, but the question was “how does this app make money?” And the app being ios/mac only isnt at all relevant to that question.
kimos 7mo ago
This app brings me so much delight. Seeing the incoming plane, knowing % chance of onetime or late. Honestly I often know changes from Flighty for my flights before the airlines do or at least before they notify me. I had once my carrier said on time and Flighty said 90 mins delay. I went to the airport on time and turns out flight was delayed. Should have just trusted them!
- devilbunny 7mo ago
  I'm sure the app is wonderful. I've gotten pretty good at finding this data from other sources, though, and one huge problem is that a delay isn't a delay until the airline says it is. If you carry on every bag and have no special requirements, and you checked in online ahead of time (so you have your boarding pass), it's very useful info and I could see paying for the app. But if, say, you are traveling with a pet that has to be verified at the counter, or you need to check a bag, the time windows for accepting those are set by the scheduled departure time. If your plane is still in the air or hasn't even left its origination airport (and, for the sake of argument here, we will assume you are flying from a smaller airport that doesn't have other aircraft that can easily be reassigned to your flight, so you know it will be delayed), it doesn't matter: they still close the check-in and baggage 45 minutes (on American; YMMV by airline) before scheduled departure. So you have no choice but to get there early and wait unless your airline actually declares the flight delayed when they know it will happen.

I use the Flighty app pretty often, and its $60/year.

friendzis 7mo ago

The app is mac/i os-only, though.

halapro 7mo ago
How's this related to anything?
- friendzis 7mo ago
  It means it's strictly unavailable for ~80% of people out there on Windows/Linux/Android?
  - simonklitj 7mo ago
    Yes, but the question is how it makes money, not whether it could make more money by expanding into other OS’s.
  - ymolodtsov 7mo ago
    I've seen many developers who released the same app on both iOS and Android and realized that Apple platforms still provide them with 80% of revenue for 20% of users. Not that many people on Android are willing to pay $60 for an app.
    - ipsento606 7mo ago
      Developing for Android is also a much worse developer experience than developing for iOS, because there are thousands of devices to support, and much greater stratification of operating system customizations and older versions. https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/ is just one example of the kind of problems app developers face on Android
      - xd1936 7mo ago
        Yeah, iOS would never kill an app in the background to try and save battery
      - kelvinjps10 7mo ago
        IOS it's work at killing apps that android. Some software manufacturers in android allow you to bypass it in the settings.
  - ohhman11 7mo ago
    >It means it's strictly unavailable for ~80% of people out there on Windows/Linux/Android? Those platforms don't generate revenue
  - AdamN 7mo ago
    It's a business - they're targeting revenues. Making it multi-platform would take alot of effort and the value just isn't there for them right now. The smart move is for them to become awesome on iOS (maybe they're close?) and then create an Android CX. BTW, them being iOS-only means they're probably getting lots of marketing support from Apple and other perks. That can really help a startup.
  - halapro 7mo ago
    Ok, post that as a top comment, it's completely irrelevant to the comment that it replied to. Like GP, I'm also a paid subscriber and I couldn't care less where else it's available. If anything, it being a native app rather than a multiplatform JS wrapper is a plus to me.
  - MajimasEyepatch 7mo ago
    That’s true globally, but in the US, iPhones are 60% of the smartphone market. In the US, iPhone users are also younger, more affluent, more educated, and I suspect more likely to fly than Android users. iOS users also dominate in app spending. And from a practical standpoint, 93% of iPhone users are on the latest version of iOS within six months, compared to 20% of Android users, which is huge when it comes to development costs. Source: https://adapty.io/blog/iphone-vs-android-users/ https://adapty.io/blog/iphone-vs-android-users/
- 9935c101ab17a66 7mo ago
  Right, but the question was “how does this app make money?” And the app being ios/mac only isnt at all relevant to that question.

kimos 7mo ago

This app brings me so much delight. Seeing the incoming plane, knowing % chance of onetime or late. Honestly I often know changes from Flighty for my flights before the airlines do or at least before they notify me. I had once my carrier said on time and Flighty said 90 mins delay. I went to the airport on time and turns out flight was delayed. Should have just trusted them!

devilbunny 7mo ago
I'm sure the app is wonderful. I've gotten pretty good at finding this data from other sources, though, and one huge problem is that a delay isn't a delay until the airline says it is. If you carry on every bag and have no special requirements, and you checked in online ahead of time (so you have your boarding pass), it's very useful info and I could see paying for the app. But if, say, you are traveling with a pet that has to be verified at the counter, or you need to check a bag, the time windows for accepting those are set by the scheduled departure time. If your plane is still in the air or hasn't even left its origination airport (and, for the sake of argument here, we will assume you are flying from a smaller airport that doesn't have other aircraft that can easily be reassigned to your flight, so you know it will be delayed), it doesn't matter: they still close the check-in and baggage 45 minutes (on American; YMMV by airline) before scheduled departure. So you have no choice but to get there early and wait unless your airline actually declares the flight delayed when they know it will happen.