Flighty
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 6 flight trackers
People recommend Flighty for early delay and cancellation alerts, native iOS design, and clear flight data. Common caveats: unreliable data for some airlines and subscription prompts.
People recommend Flighty for early delay and cancellation alerts, native iOS design, and clear flight data. Common caveats: unreliable data for some airlines and subscription prompts.
58 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 42
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 72%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 42 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Alerts before airlines report delays
“Last year Flighty literally saved me from an overnight delay because it notified me the incoming aircraft was still on the ground”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “Flighty was recommended to me by a flight attendant and I also have been notified hours ahead of the airlines by it.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “Every fellow LD I know uses Flighty, any time i get delayed flighty tells me before the airline does.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” - Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
- Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
Native app with clean design
“They’ve hurt their brand here really, which is a high quality native app experience that makes sense of a lot of granular data from different sources.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “one of the reasons Flighty is so good is that the developer picked a platform and created a native app”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “This app brings me so much delight. Seeing the incoming plane, knowing % chance of onetime or late.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” - Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
- Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
Clear presentation of flight data
“It's a flight tracking app that takes available data and presents it in the best possible wway.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “(AI) Slop Terrifies Me” “This is way more reliable than any airport announcement and monitors.”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “Dear people who work at the airport” “They display the most important information I need well imo.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” - Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
- Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
Useful airport boards and info
“It correctly shows LaGuardia as having issues but also shows nearby airports as having issues due to severe arrival delays.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “Having the departure / arrival boards of the airports in the app in a easy to find and uniform way is a great feature”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Unreliable data and delay tracking
“it didn't work satisfactorily for a flight delay of a few hours”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “I wish the data would be more reliable (or they have better sanity checks) though.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “I have seen other data issues. It usually depends on the airline”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” Pushes app downloads and subscriptions
“A website requiring me to download their app for detailed report on certain airport is not worth my time.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “super annoying that they try to force the subscription every single time you open the app”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?” “I'm getting real tired of sites trying to force me to download their spyware apps”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” Airports flicker on map
“airports blink in-and-out of existence as you zoom or pan the map around”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports” “as you zoom into the US west coast, SAN is visible before LAX”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Flighty Airports”
Other flight trackers people recommend
The four most recommended other flight trackers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlightyThis page | 42 | 16 | 72% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Airloom | 34 | 4 | 89% | 4 | — | Approved |
| ADS-B Exchange | 8 | 5 | 62% | 7 | — | — |
| airplanes.live | 6 | 2 | 75% | 4 | — | — |
| Flightradar24 | 6 | 5 | 55% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 68 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the "drawer" on the left side of the screen takes up so much space in apps like Maps/Flighty that it covers the location you're currently at”
“This is way more reliable than any airport announcement and monitors.”
“flighty is the best app for flight tracking nonetheless and is a really cool app”
“it's nice to know how long my flights are going to be”
“airports blink in-and-out of existence as you zoom or pan the map around”
“Flighty was recommended to me by a flight attendant and I also have been notified hours ahead of the airlines by it.”
“They've chosen a niche, have executed extremely well, and I'm happy to throw $50/year at them”
“Flighty has been amazing, I can attest to every point above”
“a delay isn't a delay until the airline says it is”
“one of the reasons Flighty is so good is that the developer picked a platform and created a native app”
“This app brings me so much delight. Seeing the incoming plane, knowing % chance of onetime or late.”
“Flighty is easily my favorite iOS app. I fly 10-20 times a year, mostly recreationally, and have come to rely on Flighty for travel updates”
“Every fellow LD I know uses Flighty, any time i get delayed flighty tells me before the airline does.”
“it being a native app rather than a multiplatform JS wrapper is a plus to me”
“Having the departure / arrival boards of the airports in the app in a easy to find and uniform way is a great feature”
“I'm getting real tired of sites trying to force me to download their spyware apps”
“It's helpful to be able to get a general view.”
“They display the most important information I need well imo.”
“It correctly shows LaGuardia as having issues but also shows nearby airports as having issues due to severe arrival delays.”
“$10 to reduce my stress levels when there is a delay is worth it in my book.”
“I think the design is great; my only gripe is it's awful on the iPad mini.”
“Flighty gets heavy use from US airline employees. Flighty keeps it on the lock screen. Just lift your phone and it's there.”
“it sounds like the app already does what you need it to do”
“They’ve hurt their brand here really, which is a high quality native app experience that makes sense of a lot of granular data from different sources.”
“Last year Flighty literally saved me from an overnight delay because it notified me the incoming aircraft was still on the ground”
“the most notable "use", not necessarily "value", is when the airline is still prevaricating over the delay”
“I am commenting on the entire app experience not a single web app they release today”
“it didn't work satisfactorily for a flight delay of a few hours”
“Flighty routinely tells me about cancelled flights before any other app or the airline itself.”
“Flighty is all about getting you to the airport in time for your flight”
“A website requiring me to download their app for detailed report on certain airport is not worth my time.”
“It's mind boggling difficult to find out where my plane is when it's delayed via Flighty.”
“I have seen other data issues. It usually depends on the airline”
“I wish the data would be more reliable (or they have better sanity checks) though.”
“Flighty is a good representation of what craft - compounded over time - gives you.”
“Flighty is a great app. I travel a lot and use it all the time to manage my flights.”
“as you zoom into the US west coast, SAN is visible before LAX”
“Beautiful design + incredibly useful info.”
“super annoying that they try to force the subscription every single time you open the app”
“It's a flight tracking app that takes available data and presents it in the best possible wway.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.