travelinmanS

I haven't seen any mention of this app on here yet but if it's been mentioned before I apologize for starting this thread.

This app is for those of us who want to know that our plane is 35th in line to take off at Hongqiao for Beijing. You input your flight number and it'll give you all sorts of information regarding how many planes are ahead of you at the airport, how frequently planes are taking off, how frequently planes are landing at your destination, ect. It's a godsend for a guy like me who likes to constantly be updated about our take off time and know how long I'm gonna be stuck on the ground.

If anyone here uses it I'd love to hear other's feedback. Seems like it's only available in Chinese at the moment.

Leviticus

Would be absolutely awesome if something like that was available for the US or Europe as well but I'm not sure if that would be possible based on the technical differences.

swy

where does it get the information? I imagine it's public?

travelinmanS

I don't know how they get it, but the info, particularly the number of planes in front of yours waiting to take off, is fantastic!

JPDM

Unfortunately doesn't get you "there" any faster. I prefer to relax and have a nap than worry about it.

BuildingMyBento

Maybe it's a gift from the air force.

mnredfox

Just downloaded, looking forward to trying it.

Shimon

Quick! Let's run off to Silicon Valley to get a few million to copy this for the west!

drewguy

Would be entertaining if it explained the real reason for the delays, as opposed to "weather" or "air traffic".

mnredfox

Isn't blatant copying supposed to go west to east?

travelinmanS

Aren't these the real reasons usually albeit compounded by the lack of airspace.

moondog

Here's my take on this topic:

1) I downloaded the app in question, kept it on my Android for two weeks until it crashed, and subsequently decided to restrict my phone's promiscuity (I'm not blaming this on 飞机准)
2) All of my flights seem to be delayed by at least 1 hour; this is a simple fact of life in China
3) During my tarmac sessions, I enjoy getting play-by-play updates from our OP via Wechat because it helps pass the time...
4) BUT, I've subsequently learned that the number of planes in front of mine has little relevance to my plight
5) Basically, when the lead FA finally announces that we will be taking off at 6:17, that is what is going to happen
6) Similarly, the 9:28 landing slot she broadcasts one hour out is solid data (I used to think that maybe we'd be able to shave 20 minutes off of this because 737s can fly faster than 400 mph, but I no longer have such expectations... they will fly as slow as needed in order to nail the mark)
7) The only resource I know of that actually helps me minimize the pain is flightstats.com
-this allows me to determine the present location of the airplane that is my ride in/out of town
-I don't bother heading to the airport until it is one hour away (because I can get there in 30 minutes)
-DO NOT simply use Google (whatever data provider they use isn't up to speed wrt China flights)
8) I accept the fact that I have no control over departure related variables, though I will say that it's possible to call it quits during any point in the process (e.g. if 3 hours inside a 737 at a remote stand in Guangzhou is your limit, just advise the FAs and they will arrange to have a car sent to the plane to pick you up)

JPDM

I must be very lucky as my four internal flight in April were all on time. Mind you I did not fly in or out of Beijing.

moondog

Avoiding Beijing and shanghai is key.

telan

All those info are coming from TravelSky Technology, which is a company has the largest BSP system in the world and who manage all the flight info in China except 9C.

If you like Very Zhun, I will suggest you try the another software "Umetrip" which is even better than Very Zhun since it's develpoed by Travel Sky.