FlightTrack Consolidates 3 Apps, and Drops Free Version

It's an issue that many travel companies grapple with: Are two or three apps per platform better than one?

Five years after launching FlightTrack, Expedia's Mobiata has settled on a solitary app.

Mobiata revamped its FlightTrack apps, consolidating its previous three apps for iOS and Android into one called FlightTrack 5.

Scott Corliss, a senior product manager at Mobiata, says the decision to downsize its previous three apps into one came in part at the advice of Apple, which stated that companies that focus on a single app do better with consumers.

Having three apps led to a "disjointed purchasing experience," Corliss says.

Mobiata also believes it would be better to focus its engineering and design resources around a single app, Corliss says.

Previously Mobiata offered FlightTrack ($4.99), FlightTrack Pro ($9.99), and a year ago released FlightTrack Free.

The new FlightTrack 5 for iOS 7 and Android is being offered at an introductory $2.99 per download, but will regularly sell for $4.99. There will be no free app.

FlightTrack 5 enables travelers to track flights worldwide in real-time, and get push notifications about flight and gate changes, as well as view terminal apps.

Unlike the now-dropped FlightTrack Pro, FlightTrack 5 currently does not include TripIt sync capabilities.

Among the new features in FlightTrack 5 is the ability to group flights and view which travelers are on each flight.