Comparison

ALPA Mobile vs The Air Current

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ALPA Mobile

This app provides ALPA pilots with essential tools and resources, including jumpseat information, flight time calculations, and access to pilot group content. It offers a personalized experience with saved favorites and an intuitive search function for quick access to documents and contacts.

Highlights
  • Jumpseat and flight finder
  • Flight time/duty time calculator
  • MEC and LEC content access
  • Personalized favorites
  • In-app search
  • Member resources and contacts
Features
Read full description

The ALPA App puts the tools, resources, and information ALPA pilots use most in one place. Log in with your ALPA credentials for a personalized experience with quick access to your MEC and LEC content, communications, documents, contacts, member resources, and essential tools. Use Jumpseat + Flight Finder to search flights, review jumpseat information, save flights, and access the latest airline policy information. The Flight Time/Duty Time calculator helps pilots calculate applicable limits based on U.S. and Canadian regulations. Create a personalized experience with Favorites by saving the resources you use most for quick access later. Find what you need faster with an intuitive in-app search feature that searches across app content, including documents, contacts, tools, keywords, and tags. Whether you are looking for pilot group information, member contacts, operational tools, or important ALPA resources, the ALPA App keeps everything within reach wherever you fly.

About

The Air Current

Access in-depth aviation news and intelligence with a focus on technical detail and journalistic rigor. Features exclusive scoops, breaking industry news, and an AI-powered news aggregator. Aviation safety reporting is provided as a public service.

Highlights
  • In-depth aviation reporting
  • Exclusive scoops
  • Breaking industry news alerts
  • AI-powered news aggregator
  • Mobile-first reader experience
  • Aviation safety reporting
Read full description

The Air Current is an aviation news service that combines the highest standards of journalism with the level of technical detail and rigor expected by a sophisticated industry audience. Drawing on deep expertise in the subjects we cover and an outstanding network of sources, we break important stories that are typically overlooked by other publications.

 This free-to-download app brings our aviation intelligence platform to the iPhone and iPad, with most reporting accessible via a subscription to The Air Current.
Aviation safety reporting is made freely available as a public service. Subscriber features include: - A mobile-first reader experience, designed to bring aviation insights in the palm of your hand, optimized for iPhone and iPad - Exclusive scoops and in-depth reporting on global aviation, from business strategy to technology development and regulatory policy - Push notifications for timely alerts on deeply-researched features and breaking industry news via TAC/Intel, our real-time intelligence feed - Scan the headlines faster with Airflow, an AI-powered aviation news aggregator Privacy policy: We do not sell any user data to third parties or use it for targeted advertising purposes. Our full privacy policy is available here: https://theaircurrent.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

ALPA Mobile4 screens
The Air Current4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Air Current at 100% against ALPA Mobile's 22%. The Air Current also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.7). ALPA Mobile's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Air Current holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of ALPA Mobile's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Air Current's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ALPA Mobile ships an update monthly, The Air Current every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ALPA Mobile versus The Air Current: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterALPA MobileThe Air Current
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (9 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings910 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.5
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB84 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAir Line Pilots Association, InternationalJAO Aero Media LLC

Customer experience

ALPA Mobile

All ratings8 ratings
Positive37.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative62.5%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive21.8%
Neutral14.5%
Negative63.6%

The Air Current

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ALPA Mobile

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Jumpseat flight finder missing/not working
  • Flight times incorrect/unreliable
  • App forces update with bugs
  • Jumpseat finder doesn't display correctly
  • Cargo not showing up (FedEx, UPS)
Show 11 more
  • Cannot select dates in the second half of the month
  • App shows 'Update Required' but is up to date
  • App crashes when opening or clicking links
  • MEC/LEC reps don't load or cause crashes
  • Membership card locks up the app
  • Switching from portrait to landscape screws up docs
  • App crashes when opening
  • App won't load at all
  • App crashes before anything loads
  • Keeps logging out
  • App is out of date (officers, news)

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add "aircraft's previous flight" to jumpseat finder
  • Make saved/notify buttons intuitive (on/off or red/green)
  • Remember Non-Stop/One-Stop/Multi-Leg preference for jumpseat searches
  • Add airline code to Jumpseat section
  • Make jumpseat info available offline
Show 7 more
  • Add search function for docs
  • Make hotel page more prominent
  • Add quick link to PDR system
  • Add Apple Wallet support for KCM barcode
  • Bring back ability for non-ALPA members to read ALPA news
  • Add links to more info/documents/magazines
  • Build in feedback/message system to departments

The Air Current

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ALPA Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

The Air Current

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ALPA Mobile free?
ALPA Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Air Current free?
The Air Current is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ALPA Mobile or The Air Current?
The Air Current is rated higher. ALPA Mobile averages 2.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while The Air Current averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do ALPA Mobile or The Air Current have ads?
Neither ALPA Mobile nor The Air Current shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ALPA Mobile or The Air Current?
ALPA Mobile ships an update monthly, and The Air Current every 3 weeks. Most recently, ALPA Mobile was updated on November 10, 2026 and The Air Current on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons