Personal Technology Tips in Plain English
Get Instant Flight Status Information On Your Cell Phone
My wife was traveling the other day while there’s some rain and storms forecasted for parts of the country that might throw off her travel schedule. So I wanted to keep tabs on her flights to make sure she got off the ground was going to make it to the destination ok.
One way is to call the airlines directly for flight status which I have usually done. A quick tip for calling the airlines so you don’t have to memorize telephone numbers is TellMe. Just dial 1-800-555-TELL and say “Airlines” and then at the next prompt, say the name of the airline. TellMe will connect you free of charge to the airline’s customer service number. Great for when you’re in the car or on the go and want to multi-task.
But you still have to deal with the complicated “IVR” – interactive voice response systems of airlines. What a pain in the neck. There’s got to be an easier way to get the information I need . . .
Another way that’s actually quicker I’m finding is to use my cell to ping Google for the latest flight status. Although you could use the web browser on the phone like on my Samsung Blackjack, there’s a quicker method of getting the information you need.
HOW TO GET FLIGHT STATUS VIA TEXT MESSAGE ANYTIME
- Just send a text message to 466453 (‘GOOGLE’) with the flight number. For example, “CO 1121″. That’s it!
- In seconds, you’ll get a return text message with the latest status of that flight and the toll-free number for that airline if you need to call them.
Here’s a sample flight status text that I received back after texting “CO 1121″ as my query:
25 May 07
CO 1121
BOS
Depart: 07:30
Departed
Gate: TC/C41
EWR
Arrive: 08:50
Landed
Gate: TA/A25
CO: 800-523-3273
by flightstats.com
It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s accurate. It’s hassle-free — you don’t have to deal with phone-tree-options nor humans.
I love tech, gadgets and the web. Hope you pick-up a useful tip or two here today that helps you use technology to your advantage! Better yet, why not share your own expertise in a comment on a post today to help the other readers that land here for answers!