There are several ways to notify your people when you land. Here's an honest look at each approach — what works, what doesn't, and what makes sense for your situation.
Premium apps with real-time tracking, delay predictions, and sharing features. Flighty is the gold standard for frequent flyers who want detailed flight data.
What's good: Beautiful interface, fastest alerts, detailed predictions, works great if everyone has the app.
The catch: iOS only (Flighty). Full sharing features require both parties to have the app. $48-60/year.
Location-sharing apps that can detect flights automatically. Life360 added flight landing notifications in 2024.
What's good: Fully automatic detection — no manual setup per trip. Works for families already using the app.
The catch: Requires continuous location sharing. Privacy concerns are significant. Both parties need the app installed.
Forward your confirmation email, add contacts, they get texts when you land. No app required on either end.
What's good: Works with any phone. No app for your contacts. Simple setup via email forwarding.
The catch: Contacts don't get a live map or delay predictions pushed to them. You can share a tracking link, but it's not the full Flighty experience.
Land, turn off airplane mode, send the text yourself. The approach everyone's been using since texting existed.
What's good: Free. No setup. You control the message.
The catch: You have to remember. You need WiFi/cell service. You're usually tired and dealing with bags.
You're a frequent flyer who wants the most detailed tracking. Your contacts already use Flighty. You don't mind the subscription cost.
Your contacts already use it for location sharing. Everyone is on board with continuous tracking. You want automatic detection without per-trip setup.
You don't want to ask contacts to install anything. You want something simple that works with any phone. You travel occasionally, not every week.
You travel rarely and don't mind remembering. You like writing a personal message each time. You always have cell service when you land.
The key question: What are you asking of your contacts?
Is Flighty better than SMS notifications?
Flighty offers more features for the traveler — detailed tracking, delay predictions, inbound plane status. But for notifying contacts, SMS is simpler because they don't need to install anything. Different use cases.
Does Life360 have privacy concerns?
Life360 provides continuous location tracking, which some users find invasive. If you only want flight notifications without constant location sharing, an SMS-based approach like Landed may be a better fit.
Can I use multiple approaches?
Yes. You might use Flighty for your own tracking and Landed to notify contacts who don't have the app. The approaches aren't mutually exclusive.