Report updated Jun 22, 2026
Airports
For aviation professionals and flight crew members requiring a portable directory for airport data, weather reports, and operational calculations.
Airports is a well-regarded reference app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.6/5 rating from 149.1K reviews, it maintains solid user satisfaction. Users particularly appreciate aviation professionals rely on the app for quick pre-flight briefings and weather data access, though inconsistent notam and weather data retrieval creates significant friction for flight planning workflows remains a common concern.
What is Airports?
Airports is a global aviation directory and flight-bag utility for pilots, offering offline weather data and operational calculators on iOS and Android.
Pilots hire this app to consolidate pre-flight briefing data and personal notes into one portable interface, reducing the cognitive load of managing multiple paper or digital sources.
Current Momentum
v4.1 · 4d ago
Intense- Integrated Apple Maps for iOS.
- Added flight duty period calculator.
- Expanded database with Brazilian airports.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
What Are The Key Features?
27,000+ worldwide airports with ICAO/IATA identifiers.
Dissemination of airport-specific PDFs to crew members.
Calculators for fuel, wind, and flight duty periods.
How much does it cost?
- $8.99 one-time purchase (iOS)
- Free (Android)
Anchored at $8.99 for iOS, targeting professional utility, while using an ad-supported free model on Android to capture broader hobbyist volume.
Who Built It?
Applicate
Providing specialized aviation and technical utility tools for pilots and enthusiasts. Bridging the gap between niche hardware and mobile accessibility.
Portfolio
4
Apps
What other apps does Applicate make?
Explore the full Applicate report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Applicate.
What do users think recently?
Low confidence · 49 reviews analyzed
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a excited sentiment. Users appreciate aviation professionals rely on the app for quick pre-flight briefings and weather data access, but report inconsistent notam and weather data retrieval creates significant friction for flight planning workflows.
Limited review volume (49 reviews). Sentiment analysis will deepen as more data lands.
View the full user-sentiment analysis
Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.
What is the competitive landscape for Airports?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (1)
How's The Reference Market?
How does it evolve in the Reference market?
The app maintains a niche presence in the Reference category, though its #100+ paid rank across multiple regions suggests it is currently a secondary tool for most users. The discrepancy between its high rating and low chart velocity signals a stable but stagnant user base.
Rank progression
128 active rankings tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
Dominates the professional pilot segment with deep integration into aviation hardware and a massive, active user base.
Differentiators
- Deep hardware integration with Garmin avionics creates a high-friction ecosystem lock-in for professional pilots.
- Aggressive release cadence of 9 updates in six months signals a high-velocity feature development cycle.
- Provides comprehensive flight planning and weather overlays that exceed basic directory-style airport information apps.
Head to head
The target app should defend its niche by focusing on simplicity and speed, avoiding a direct feature-war with Garmin's complex EFB ecosystem.
Contenders(2)
Directly competes on the core utility of providing METAR and TAF reports with a focus on weather data.
Differentiators
- Specializes in hyper-focused weather visualization, providing a cleaner interface for METAR/TAF data than general directory apps.
- Offers a dedicated pro-tier experience that removes friction for pilots needing rapid weather checks before takeoff.
A specialized navigation tool that serves the same pilot audience with a focus on intuitive visual flight planning.
Differentiators
- Focuses on a highly intuitive, map-centric interface that simplifies complex VFR flight planning for general aviation.
- Maintains a dedicated, loyal user base by prioritizing specific European aviation regulations and airspace data structures.
Same space(3)
A niche navigation tool that provides regionalized aviation data, serving as a specialized alternative.
Differentiators
- Provides highly localized aviation data and navigation features tailored specifically for the Australian aviation market.
- Operates as a specialized, regional-first EFB that competes on depth of local data rather than global breadth.
A legacy navigation tool that serves the same professional pilot demographic but shows signs of stagnation.
Differentiators
- Offers a comprehensive, free EFB suite that historically served as the primary alternative to paid navigation apps.
- Lacks recent development velocity, creating an opportunity for more modern, agile apps to capture its user base.
Adjacent utility that dominates the aviation weather space through superior visualization and massive scale.
Differentiators
- Provides industry-leading visual weather modeling that serves as a primary reference for pilots globally.
- Leverages a massive, cross-platform user base to fuel continuous innovation in weather data rendering and forecasting.
New entrants(1)
Emerging as a modern, agile competitor with a consistent release cadence in the pilot utility space.
Differentiators
- Focuses on consolidating pilot utility tasks into a single, modern interface to reduce cockpit app switching.
- Maintains a steady release cycle that allows for rapid iteration based on direct pilot feedback loops.
Compare Airports against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for Airports
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Offline caching for 48 hours functions as a critical reliability moat for cockpit use
- Document Packs enable B2B distribution into flight operator crew workflows
Critical Frictions
- Inconsistent third-party data retrieval creates high-friction flight planning failures
- Lack of unit customization forces manual conversion for international operations
Growth Levers
- Integration of live weather radar would consolidate the current multi-app briefing workflow
- Expansion of B2B document management features could increase enterprise-tier adoption
Market Threats
- Garmin Pilot's hardware-linked navigation creates a high-friction ecosystem lock-in
- Agile competitors like Aviator Assistant are consolidating utility tasks into modern, faster interfaces
What are the next best moves?
Audit third-party weather API reliability because retrieval failures are the #1 complaint → reduce churn
High-frequency complaints regarding NOTAM and weather data retrieval indicate a core utility failure.
Trade-off: Pause the weather radar integration sprint — API stability is a prerequisite for new features.
Ship unit customization for runway lengths because it is a recurring international user pain point → improve professional utility
User feedback highlights manual conversion as a recurring inconvenience for international operations.
Trade-off: Same-quarter capacity available — no major lever displaced.
A counter-intuitive read
The app's reliance on third-party data is not just a weakness, but a potential moat if the developer builds a proprietary caching layer that competitors lack.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Live weather radar (available in Windy.com but missing here)
- Hardware-linked navigation (available in Garmin Pilot but missing here)
Key Takeaways
Airports provides essential utility for pre-flight preparation, but persistent data retrieval failures threaten its reliability as a professional tool. The PM should prioritize API stability over new feature expansion to protect the core user base from migrating to more reliable competitors.
Where Is It Heading?
Stable
The aviation reference market is shifting toward integrated EFB solutions that combine navigation and weather. Airports remains exposed due to its reliance on third-party data providers, so the PM must prioritize technical reliability to prevent professional users from switching to more integrated platforms.
Persistent data retrieval failures in the latest version erode trust, which will likely lead to increased churn among professional users.
Active feature investment in the latest release, including flight duty calculators, signals that the app remains in active development rather than maintenance mode.