The route data is encoded in the routes.dat file within the application zip file. Or if you'd like it predigested with unique IDs (as opposed to often duplicated IATA codes) for airlines and airports, download it from OpenFlights:

http://openflights.org/data.html

Thanks, jpatokal. I'm familiar with the format - I've manually added new "alliances" (for example all the low cost carriers in Asia) & routes which I knew were missing (for example BKK-JNB on TG) to assist with upcoming travel plans.

It looks like the Openflights routes.dat is a different/incompatible format (comma delimited) from the original ARM format (tab delimited). I would be willing to write a script to convert OF to ARM if OF's are updated more frequently (and I would donate to the OF cause, naturally ;))

I do already have an OF account, and I find it useful for recording past trips, but nothing I've seen beats ARM for complex route planning.

On a side note: what are you using to generate those gorgeous world maps with airport locations & routes? GCM is great, but the images are to small - I'd love to be able to generate a large custom route map like what you've done.

Wow! I really like this. I love the world maps. Why wasn't I here long ago?

It's the other way around: OF data is generated from ARM, and it's formatted that way for easy database importing.

Um, are you asking me or cockpitvisit? OpenFlights uses OpenLayers for mapping, with a whole bunch of custom Javascript code on top to render the routes and airports. My favorite hack, though, is exporting the flight data as KML and rendering it as 3D in Google Earth:

http://openflights.org/demo/openflig...arth-thumb.png
http://openflights.org/demo/openflig...rth2-thumb.png

http://openflights.org/blog/2009/02/...-google-earth/

I'm speaking to you. :p

I know how to use KML/gEarth to do what I want, but I really like what you did with these: openflights-apdb-2048.png & openflights-routedb-2048.png. How did you gen them? I'd really like to recreate a map similar to the second one with only the routes I specify.

Start here:
http://openflights.svn.sourceforge.n...hp?view=markup

Customize the SQL to filter out what you want, eg. "WHERE r.alid=[numeric airline ID]" should do the trick if you want a single-airline map. The underlying map must be equirectangular (plate carree) projected, the default NASA Blue Marble map is in the same directory as map-2048.png.

Good stuff, jpatokal! Thanks for sharing. My schedule's a little crazy in the short term, but I'm looking forward to tinkering with this.

March update available
 

A new update is now available.

• Route maps updated to reflect March 2010.

Thanks, cockpitvisit! Any thoughts on my recommendation from post #240?

No.

thanks for the tip

I'm noticing more and more airport coordinates which are thousands of kilometres from their real locations. Would it be possible to post the airport coordinates list on a wiki so that users can edit incorrect data?

Yes, I am thinking about a Wiki too (also for airlines).

Do you know of any aviation-themed wiki where this can be hosted, or should I do it myself?

Also, if you have any incorrectly placed airports (apart from the list you posted a while ago), you can post them here, so that I could get them into the April update.

Thanks!

We have one right here (well, actually I guess it is still owned by Randy Petersen and not Internet Brands, but it's affiliated with FT): http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

A non-exhaustive list:

BPM 17.4531 78.4676 Hyderabad
HZH 26.3350 109.1500 Liping City
LDS 47.7149 128.8143 Yichun Shi (can't find exact coordinates, but is within a few km)
NBS 42.0880 127.5489 Chang Bai Shan (name of airport is Chang Bai Shan)
NVI 40.1150 65.1592 Navoi
PZI 26.5423 101.7985 Pan Zhi Hua
ZNA 49.1833 -123.9500 Nanaimo Harbour

I'm sure there are plenty more incorrect points in places I've never heard of...

Seems to be a "name" fault, as BPM is Bagram (Afghanistan) and not Hyderabad, but the coordinates for BPM are correct.
Hyderabad can be found as Shamshabad (IATA HYD, which is small village right next to Hyderabad).

@cockpitvisit: maybe you could add "Aer Arann Islands", they operate flights between Connemara and the islands of Mor, Oirr and Meain in Ireland.

April update available
 

A new update is now available.

• Route maps updated to reflect April 2010.
• Locations of several airports corrected (thanks urbanfan89!)
• Routes by Allegiant Air (G4) added.

Just discovered this tool and I love it ... but why are CO's Micronesian routes missing ?

CO Micronesia flights appear as CO codeshares (enable codeshares on the toolbar).

NBS has still not be changed.

Also, many airlines have routes which are clearly not correct and are either codeshares with other airlines or which do not exist at all. We should post the route, airline, and airport files onto a wiki to edit them.

@cockpitvisit: I have just recently come across this application. All i can say is Fantastic..! ^^^^^

I was just wondering if i can edit the "dat" files and upload those updates on this thread..?
Would you approve of the same..?

Its just the fact that my focus regions are India, SE Asia & Middle East and I focus on EK, QR, IT, AI and other carrier's routes operating to/from these regions.

Once again, I appreciate this superb application..!

with regards,
GuyFromBOM

You are of course welcome to edit the data files and upload changes.

Keep in mind though that I update these files roughly each month with data pulled automatically from several sources. I am not sure how to combine automatic updates with manual edits.

I love this tool and am spending far too much time playing with it :D , but am I the only one who has noticed that CM are still listed under Skyteam even though their associate membership died the same day that COs membership ceased ?

I just noticed a missing flight:

CAI-DXB-SIN on SQ

Since this is not a daily flight, I wonder if it has something to do with the way you capture your data from the sources. For example, if you take a snapshot on a given day, it might only bring back flights operating on that day.

Maybe it has nothing to do with that...in any case, I know that this flight operates and is valid.

Congrats on the tool, by the way -- have used it many times.

Would it be possible to select routes between any two airports in the world regardless whether there are scheduled flights between the pair?

[deleted]

May I ask you why you would want this?

At the present, the only way to do it is to add the routes in question to routes.dat using a text editor.

Airline Route Mapper does not keep a listing of your flights. Are you talking about openflights.org perhaps?

[deleted]

Thanks!

That is a fantastic tool!!! Thanks for sharing it!!

Summer '10 Update
 

Is there any chance of an update soon to represent the 2010 summer season, either for July or August ???

I must say, I have been waiting very patiently for one, in fact I have been checking the website every day for a few weeks only to find that its still on the April schedule :-(

This is truly an amazing program, and I have spent countless hours using it since it came out a few years ago.

awesome tool! thank you.

waynecounty, Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Hello all, I'm new to this forum but I've registered to share a project I've been working on based on the data provided with the Airline Route Mapper tool. http://www.whereables.co.uk is a tool that allows you to view the worlds airports, routes, airlines on a map. You're all already very familiar with this kind of application!

In terms of actual functionality and utility the map is left far behind by the ARM tool but what I've focussed on here is both the design of the interface to make interaction with the information slightly more accessible and the provision of other services around that data, in this case a review system for each airport and airline.

It was started as a spare time project so there was no real direction or outcome planned for it but I'd be very interested to hear what a frequent flyer community make of it and what they would need from a site like this. Or if they would even need it at all!

Thanks in advance, I look forward to getting more involved in this community!

Thanks, looks promising.

thewelk, welcome to FlyerTalk! Thanks for posting your application.

John

There will be an update in August, sorry for keeping silent on this.

Awesome !!! Definitely looking forward to it !!!

Second that! Can't tell you useful this tool is for researching trip ideas. Thanks again for an awesome tool!

Caesar

3D Globe Airline Route Mapper
 

A big thanks to the maker of the original tool, the Airline Route Mapper, one of a kind... This tool is the only thing I know of that provides these unique amazing features, and was my inspiration in planning my around-the-world trip for next year.

I learned 3D programming with Windows' new WPF model, and wanted to try to create a 3D version of the tool, allowing for visualization of the route I would take on a transparent globe. So anyway, after way too many wasted hours, I have created a 3D version of this tool, not ready for release, but about as good as it will get anytime soon likely!

Warning/Admission: My 3D version is much slower than the 2D version - due in part to its nature, and in part to my limited programming skills and possibly the approach I used which is easier for a novice to use (WPF graphics instead of native). However, on my development computer and a couple of test computers, it seems to work fairly well, not flawless, and admittedly much slower than the original awesome tool.

It requires the .NET 4.0 Framework, which you can download from Microsoft's web site. Just search for that if you don't have it. If you try to run the .exe and it doesn't run, this is likely why. There should be no other required software. The airline routes are simply taken from the existing data generously shared by the creator of the original Airline Route Mapper. I embedded the data in the 3D tool directly so it is less files to distribute, although I could rewrite it easily to use .dat files like the original if updates for routes become available.

I would like to improve the tool, if anybody likes it and thinks it is worth working further on. Right now I think I got 80% of the features I found in the original ARM tool, but some may be missing.

So without further ado... here is a link to the 3D Earth Route Mapper:
Download Link