Get Airport Information on your cell phone with mobile versions of airport web sites
While many people now have cell phones that can view full versions of
web sites, many people will still appreciate a streamlined text-only
version of a web site which can be viewed quickly and easily on any
phone. Many airports provide users some information utilizing these
fast-loading and easily read pages. The information available on these
mobile web sites ranges from almost complete text-only versions of the
full web site to more limited information such as text versions of
flight arrival and departure information. Other airports provide email
alerts or flight information sent as a text messages to your mobile
phone. Many web sites will automatically display the mobile version if
you access the website using a mobile phone. The following is a list of
airports with cell phone friendly web sites or other means of providing
airport information to your cell phone. Also, you can check http://m.expectdelays.com
from your mobile phone to check on flight arrival and departure
information for any airport, as well as other air travel information.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Charlotte Douglass International Airport does not have a mobile site per se, but they have a text only version of the entire web
site which is easily viewable on mobile devices. It can be accessed
via: http://assistive.usablenet.com/tt/www.charmeck.org/Departments/Airport/Site+Map/home.htm.
As this is a text version of the full web site, it contains all of the
information contained on the full site.
Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) Airports
The major Chicago airports have no
mobile web sites per se, however flight information can be accessed from
your mobile device via email. While this feature may appeal to some,
most people would probably rather visit a true mobile site for your
flight information, such as http://m.expectdelays.com.
Real time flight information (TextFIDS) from either O'Hare or Midway
International Airports is available via e-mail capable mobile
devices, free-of-charge. The full instructions for this service can be found at: http://www.flychicago.com//AboutUS/MobileFIDS.shtm
You can also sign up for the O'Hare Modernization Program mailing list at:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/opti/ea?v=001JtLq2k4dXaI1fwV2Bu8_vA%3D%3D/
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)If you go
to the main DFW web site (
http://www.dfwairport.com) using a mobile device, the mobile version of the site will be automatically displayed. There is also the option
to view the full site. The mobile site can also be accessed via:
http://www.dfwairport.com/mobile.
The mobile site has all the information that the main site has, without the
graphics. Because of this, some of the links which go to non-mobile sites may not display properly
on all mobile devices, however it is nice to have a mobile site that
contains much of the information that is available on the full site.
Denver International Airport (DEN)Denver International Airport has a mobile web site available via:
http://flydenver.com/idsmall.asp.
The mobile web site provide basic airport information as well
as security wait times, flight status, and a list of parking lot
status (whether the lot is open or closed). There is no link to the full site, however,
which may be frustrating to some who have capable mobile devices and
are looking for more information than the mobile site provides.
Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)The
Houston airports have a limited mobile site which provides only a tool
to check flight arrival and departure information. It can be accessed
at:
http://wap.fly2houston.com. There is no auto-redirect to the mobile site from the main page of the full site.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)LAX
also only provides a limited mobile web site on which you can check on flight
arrival or departure information. It can be accessed at:
http://www.lawa.org/fsw/m. The full web site is based on graphical navigation, so it is not too conducive to mobile use.
Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE)mobile.mitchellairport.com
contains information found to be the most important to travelers,
including arrivals and departures status, real-time parking information,
directions to the airport and an airport guide. The site also includes a
listing of airlines that serve GMIA complete with Web links and contact
phone numbers that can be dialed by a cell phone with one simple click. The airport recently added a real-time parking monitor
to its Web site as well as introduced the new Smart Pass parking system.
The real time parking monitor allows one to see the percentage of
available parking spaces in each parking lot.
New York City Airports (LaGuardia (LGA), Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR))The
web sites for all three of the major New York City area airports are
located on the main Port Authority of New York and New Jersey web site.
There is no mobile version of the airport web sites, however you can
sign up for alerts and advisories for each airport which can be sent to your cell phone at
http://www.airportinfoalerts.com. Airport
Info-Alert is a free subscription service that notifies customers of
airport weather delays, parking lot capacity, and AirTrain service
delays. When you register, you will:
- Receive free alerts
directly to your cellular phone, PDA, pager, or email account.
- Be
notified if a weather delay exceeds 120 minutes, if parking lots are
full, and if AirTrain service is interrupted.
- Be
able to select the days of the week and the times of the day you wish
to monitor.
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)If you visit the main Philadelphia International Airport web site at
http://www.phl.org
using a mobile device, you will automatically be shown a screen which
gives you the option of going to the full site, view a text version of
the site or find quick text flight information. The text version of the
site contains links to full graphics containing pages, so not all the
information may be easily viewable on your mobile device, although
there is still quite a bit of information that should display correctly.
Seattle - Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac, SEA)Sea-Tac
Airport does have a mobile web site, however it does not automatically
display this site when you are using a mobile browser. The mobile site
can be accessed at:
http://hosting.portseattle.org/fids/mobile/%28S%28acujrh55ij2j1i55ioahpbzd%29%29/Menu.aspx. The mobile site allows one to check on flight arrival and departure information as well as to sign up for flight email alerts.
Sea-Tac Airport also has two additional options for receiving information via a mobile device.
Real-Time
Flight Information for Sea-Tac Airport is available through most cell phones. The service uses a simple text message request that returns
updated flight information back to the phone via a text message. Users
get real-time flight information including current departure or arrival
times, gate numbers, and additional flight status updates. Here's how it works:
- Create a new text message.
- Type your airline and flight number in the body of the message. For example, Alaska 1234
- Enter the code "FlySEA" or 359732 in the "Send To" area.
- Send the message.
Within
seconds, you'll receive the latest real-time information, including the
flight number, departure or arrival time, gate number and flight
status. Cell phone updates are a one-time,passenger activated service.
In order to receive another update you must text the address again.
Your cell phone carrier's standard rates apply.
The other Sea-Tac
option is to sign up to receive e-mail notifications for real-time
flight status, airport construction and other information. There are
numerous mailing lists that you can sign up for.
You can sign up for
these mailing lists at:
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001nkQbX5l1Qs9y_B38b6iB6Hhhnv18xEhv.
You can also sign up for email flight notifications at:
http://hosting.portseattle.org/fids/FlightInfo.aspx?MenuItem=2.
These mobile web sites can make your travel go more smoothly if you discover that you need additional airport information while away from home.
Remember, if you eXpect delaYs, you can beat them!
