Actually, FT wouldn't have any control over when the app is released. The final step in an iPhone app's development is submitting it for approval and posting to the App Store.

From what my iPhone app developer friend has told me and from what I've gathered reading Gizmodo, Engadget, and other tech news sites, the first step is a cursory once-over by an overseas team (i.e. India). They look to make sure the basic requirements of the developer terms and conditions are met (i.e. isn't completely tasteless, is properly labeled and has a description and icon, doesn't crash immediately upon running, etc.) and the application is properly rated (i.e. it has to have a 17+ rating if it allows unrestricted web browsing from within the app). Once that step is passed, a team of testers gives the app a thorough work-over and bug-testing, and if any bugs are found, the app is referred back to the developer (my friend has had them find some very obscure bugs he otherwise would never have found). Once that's done, it goes into a queue and eventually gets posted on the App Store for public purchase and download.

That whole process can take an indeterminate amount of time, though it seems to average about two weeks (at least for updates; initial releases may actually take longer, and occasionally, the App Store team gets overwhelmed with a high volume of submissions--one of the reasons they began the offshore pre-screening, I think). The developer has no control over when it gets released, so all the FT team can do is cross their fingers and hope it gets released as soon as they want it to.

As for me: I recently went through and got rid of about 20 apps that I decided I absolutely never use. Now I have room to install some more. (Apple's limit on 11 screens--up from 9 in OS 2.x--seems frustratingly arbitrary to me.) :P

All that said, I just searched the App Store for "FlyerTalk," and what do I see but a "Lufthansa Miles & More MemberScout featuring FlyerTalk" app released on November 4th! Hmm--but what does it have to do with FlyerTalk? Nothing in the description, but the screenshot at the bottom has a big FlyerTalk logo and says, "Featuring FlyerTalk Star MegaDo 2009"!

Perhaps this is the co-branded app that Randy was mentioning. I've only just launched the app (as I'm typing this!), and it's asking me to register with MemberScout. I tried doing so, but it keeps hanging up on a field called "Access code"--nothing I enter there is valid. Perhaps this is something that was issued to people participating in the *A MegaDo?

Anyway, so I can't take a look at it yet, but it doesn't quite appear to be something that allows you to efficiently browse FT on an iPhone but rather a social networking app that allows you to find other members around you (it's location aware) and recommend things to do. See the full app description in the iTunes Store for more information.

Perhaps Randy has a different app up his sleeve and this is unrelated, but given the release date and FlyerTalk branding, perhaps this is indeed it.