Originally Posted By: Eddie
Looking for a free AIRLINE FLIGHT TRACKER. One that shows where the plane is when flying along with expected arrival time. Ed
If you're a plane spotter, or aviation enthusiast, then the above recommendations are good.
If you're going to pick someone up at the airport and want to know what time they're getting in, then the best way is to download that airline's app to your phone and subscribe to notifications. They're all free.
What you can't tell from flight trackers: assigned approach procedures, approach speeds, taxi times, gate availability.
For example, an airplane is 20 miles from EWR. They fly at 250 KTS, right? So, how far away are they?
Well, if they're on final and slowed to 180 KTS, then that airplane is about 8 minutes from landing, because they'll slow to final approach speed at about 4 miles.
But, if they're on vectors on the opposite side of the airport, then they might be 30 minutes from landing as they get sequenced into the arrival traffic, vectored away from the airport, etc.
You can't tell, even with extensive aviation experience, which one of the above cases is true. Even then, you don't really know the average ground time after landing.
But some of the airline apps use known arrival averages for that city, at that time of day, for that time of year, and they are far more accurate than a guess looking at aircraft position. The airline also knows if the gate is open (or not) and so, the app will account for those delays.
Finally, the app sends you push notifications, so all you do is subscribe, and you'll be updated in real time without having to do anything else.
Easy.