Comparison

AirwayControl vs PlaneLens

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

Head to head
About

AirwayControl

Features
Read full description

Your flight, from the moment you leave the house to the baggage belt at your destination. Every aircraft beautifully presented in the map. Avoid the constant hunt for info screens at the airport. Gate, times and changes are right on your phone, and the app tells you when something changes. At Avinor's airports in Norway, gate and baggage belt come from the same source as the screens in the hall. If something goes wrong, it keeps constant track of what you are entitled to, and guides you through claiming it with ease. MY FLIGHT • Search a flight number, a route or an airline, and add it as My Flight. • Gate, terminal, check-in desk and times on one card, with a Live Activity and a Lock Screen widget. • Notifications you choose: go to gate, gate change, delay, boarding, gate closing, cancellation and baggage on the belt. Worked out on your iPhone, with no account. • Leaving from a Norwegian airport: the expected security wait, and the reclaim belt when you land. WHEN THE FLIGHT GOES WRONG • Delayed or cancelled: what changed, and when the app last checked. • Your rights on that route, in plain language. EU261, UK261 and the national rules of 18 more countries, including Canada, the United States, Brazil, Türkiye and India. • A claim letter to the airline, filled in from what the app already knows. It opens in your own mail app and goes to the airline's own published address. We fill in the form. We are not a claims agency, and we take no fee and no cut. • Where to complain on that route, when the airline says no. • Damaged or delayed bag: the deadline that applies to you, the nearest service desk on the airport map, and every detail the airline's form asks for, ready to paste. BAGGAGE • Published allowances and fees for more than 100 airlines, by fare type: cabin bag, checked bags, extra pieces and overweight. • Allowances also depend on your ticket and status. The app says so, every time. AIRPORTS • Departures and arrivals for any airport you search or tap. • At Norwegian and Nordic airports: gate, belt, check-in desk and live status from Avinor's official feed. • Airport maps with surveyed gates and stands, and a walking estimate to your gate in distance and minutes. One tap hands over to Apple Maps. It is an estimate, not indoor turn-by-turn. LIVE RADAR • Live aircraft on a calm map, worldwide. • Tap a plane: a rendered aircraft in the airline's own colors where we have them, real photos credited to the photographer, the route, and schedule and gate. • Aircraft in view: every aircraft on screen as a list, with a page for each type. • Overhead: what is passing above you right now. • Live precipitation radar over the map. PRIVACY No ads. No account. No tracking. Your location centers the map and measures the walk to your gate. Your exact position never leaves your device. SUBSCRIPTION AirwayControl requires a subscription. One auto-renewable subscription unlocks the whole app. New subscribers get a 7-day free trial; after that it renews monthly at the price shown in the App Store for your country. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically every month unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://airwaycontrol.intelsystems.ai/privacy HONEST LIMITS Aircraft positions work worldwide; refresh rate depends on receiver coverage. Gate, belt, check-in desk and security wait are deepest at Nordic airports; elsewhere you get boards, gate and terminal where published, and the live map. Rights information is information, not legal advice. Live data needs a connection. CREDITS Full credits for data, maps and photos: airwaycontrol.intelsystems.ai/credits

About

PlaneLens

Features
Read full description

That plane overhead? Now you know. PlaneLens turns your phone into a window on the sky. Point it up and see every aircraft around you rendered live on a beautiful sky dome — or flip to a classic radar scope that rotates with your compass, so north on screen is always real north. TAP ANY PLANE FOR ITS FULL STORY Airline, flight number, and the radio callsign pilots actually use. A photo of the exact airframe. Departure and arrival boards with estimated times in each airport's local time. Altitude with real-world context, speed in mph, estimated Mach, heading, and how close it will pass to you. Even what its transponder code means in plain English. A RADAR SCOPE IN YOUR POCKET Live blips riding real trajectories, a rotating sweep, range rings out to 100 miles, and doppler precipitation so you can watch flights thread the weather. CATCH FLYOVERS, BUILD YOUR COLLECTION Planes that pass directly overhead land in your logbook automatically. Share spotting cards, watch your plane catalog light up with every type currently in your sky, and put live overhead traffic on your home screen with the PlaneLens widget. FREE TO USE. PREMIUM WHEN YOU WANT MORE. PlaneLens Premium adds worldwide flight search, unlimited logbook history, and extended 100-mile range. Weekly ($4.99/week after a 3-day free trial), annual ($24.99/year), or lifetime ($69.99 one time). Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://snoflo.org/products/planelens

Screenshots

AirwayControl4 screens
PlaneLens4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AirwayControl at none against PlaneLens's 3. AirwayControl also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. PlaneLens sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. AirwayControl asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
AirwayControl versus PlaneLens: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAirwayControlPlaneLens
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher SvendsenSnoflo.org LLC

In-app purchases

None

AirwayControl

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

PlaneLens

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Premium Annual$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is AirwayControl free?
AirwayControl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlaneLens free?
PlaneLens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AirwayControl or PlaneLens have ads?
Neither AirwayControl nor PlaneLens shows ads.

Other comparisons