When are some USEFUL functions going to be introduced with the Flight Alert feature? Only being able to get an alert for the callsign is hardly any use to anyone, unless it’s your own aircraft. What people will want are alerts for AIRPORTS primarily. 
While I agree that airport notifications could be of use and we may release that in the future, I have to respectfully disagree that the current implementation is “hardly any use to anyone” – FlightAware currently sends nearly 100,000 alerts daily.
So, more than once a second (all day, every day), someone disagrees with you. 
I disagree. I find the alerts useful. While SOME people may wish to have airport alerts, I find being able to trace individual aircraft better.
I’m interested in tracking flights of CXP, SPA, and the UAL presidential press plane UAL9901.
The improvements introduced this week are great. I was originally not impressed with the mobile alerts, since they did not included times. The new format gives me everything I need to track a flight. Departed from KXXX->KYYY with the ETA is super.
Thanks for the much needed changes!
First, random question…
Wouldn’t getting an alert for a specific aircraft going to whatever airport be a little easier than if you were tracking an airport like LAX where your phone/email would be blowing up?
Second, RobK, remember, keep it in perspective. What may be useful to you may not be useful to others and vice versa. I think this new update to the alerts may have been pushed up a little because of the overall issues that people had with them.
DAMI,
READ THE ABOVE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY.
I think I have been saying the very same thing on many other suggestions that don’t agree with you particurily Gadgets / Widgets.
So, keep the well given advice above in mind when you give your opinions on other suggestions…
Well said Pika1000!
Thanks!!!
Allen
Allen,
RobK stated his opinion in the form of a blanket statement. I stated my opinion.
Look at what he said. I have placed my comments in red.
When are some USEFUL functions going to be introduced with the Flight Alert feature? Only being able to get an alert for the callsign is hardly any use to anyone, unless it’s your own aircraft.
He’s implying that the alerts are not useful. Tracking a specific aircraft is very useful. If I go to the trouble of getting an aircraft alert set up then it’s only logical to think that I know what the aircraft call sign means.
What people will want are alerts for AIRPORTS primarily.
How does he know this? Did he conduct a poll of users to see what they want? I find airport alerts to be not so useful, especially in the case of large airports. There are just too many aircraft arriving and departing at the large airports.
Now, if he meant he wanted to be able to set up alerts for a specific aircraft and specific airport (e.g. alert me when Nxxx files a flight plan for Kxxx), then I agree an airport alert would be good. But just to have an alert that notifies you of aircraft arriving/departing a specific airport is not useful.
I appreciate that it would be ridiculous for the larger airports if it were to simply be an airport alert but that is not what I meant. A simple query could be set up to allow and/or filter certain criteria if you only want to receive alerts for specific aircraft/airlines/origins etc.
On the other hand, for spotters and such like at the quieter airports and airfields, I am sure they would be delighted to know in advance of any planned movements and would find the email/text alert for that extremely useful.
It’s all irrelevant anyway; if it was decided to introduce such a feature I would be probably be in my coffin by the time it was announced on this site.
RobK strikes again. Its better to see the newspaper filled with fish ‘n’ chips as half full than half empty. 
I think that comes off a furtune cookie I ate somewhere!?!
Now that makes more sense. Would have made it easier to figure that out had you said that the first time.
This would probably (taking a wild guess here, FA gurus can tell me if I am wrong) be the easiest thing to do. Just replace aircraft with airport.
I am giving this the nomination for the biggest a-hole comment of the year (and it’s only MARCH). The site is free. The alerts are free. There are other areas which make FA money, which will be focused on first (biznotch 101). Just because things aren’t happening on your timeline doesn’t mean that they will ever happen. Don’t like how things are done here at FA, then the answer is simple, go somewhere else where they will bow to your demands…
As anyone who “knows” me on here knows that those that complain about a FREE service bug the ever living crap out of me. Now, if RobK is a premium member, that is different, but still, don’t be an a-hole about it.
Simply making an observation. It just puzzles me why the simplest of scripts take the best part of 12 months (and longer) to implement. I have offered my help twice with this in past but never received a reply to either contact. 
To add a new alert.
Me thinks, from reading his other thread that was locked, he is looking for alerts on airports…just a hunch.
All this griping about no airport alerts. What’s wrong with just opening a browser, entering the airport, and keeping the browser window open during the day. Open a new window for each airport.
I agree with Pika1000:
As anyone who “knows” me on here knows that those that complain about a FREE service bug the ever living crap out of me. Now, if RobK is a premium member, that is different, but still, don’t be an a-hole about it.
In fact, I think anyone with an NQ (niceness quotient) great then that of a slime sucking, toad faced, bottom feeding, greedy as a son of a gun person* would agree with Pika.
*i.e. a lawyer (what is it about lawyers that make them so slimy? Had a meeting with one yesterday and it was pure slime oozing out)
Perhaps if you offered to host the server to support the service?
I don’t think the lack of a script is the problem as much as the supporting hardware and resulting bandwidth.