iPhone App of the Week : ITA Software OnTheFly

If you’re a follower of my Twitterstream (@flyingwithfish) ,  you’ll see the same company’s website mentioned time and time again in regard to finding flight solutions and comparing airfares.

This week’s iPhone App of the week is created by the same company I’ve recommend over and over again in Twitter. This week’s iPhone App of the Week is ITA Software OnTheFly.

Using ITA Software’s OnTheFly app, much like their website, is a unique experience, in that users can gather a significant amount of information, but can’t directly book a flight through ITA Software.

ITA Software is not a consumer focused booking engine, in fact ITA Software develops software systems for online booking companies such as Kayak.com, Orbitz, Bing Travel, Trip Advisor and Hotwire, as well as airlines including United Airlines, America Airlines, Alitalia, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Continental Airlines and quite a few other major airlines.

The significant advantage to using ITA Software, despite not being able to directly book flights, is that ITA Software’s QPX system allows travelers to view a massive amount of potential flight options, flight combinations and generally at a lowest possible fare.   The capabilities of ITA Software for seeking out flights are that they build the system for airlines and major global online travel agencies.

ITA Software and ITA’s OnTheFly iPhone App gives users the option to search multiple airports around a chosen airport, search by number of potential stops, arrival time, departure time, change airports during a layover as well as other potential customizable search options.

The layout of ITA Software’s OnTheFly is very easy to use and provides users with a very easy to use interface.  An option I like is the ability to not only see the total miles of a trip, but also evaluate the estimated carbon emissions of the flights I am selecting.

Once you have selected your flights, ITA Software’s OnTheFly can e-mail you the full details of the flight you’ve selected so you can book it. This includes the fare classes for each of the segments, taxes fees and other exact detail information that allow a travel to book the flight, exactly as you see it on ITA’s software. When calling an airline, it also allows you to book a flight without having the agent hunt for what you’re telling them exists … you just give them all the nitty gritty details.

Below are 16 screen shots of ITA Software’s OnTheFly App, which is FREE at the iTunes Store, from my iPhone.

Happy Flying!

(Click Images Below To Enlarge)