Essential Digital Tools Every Frequent Flyer Should Know

When I first started travelling, the only thing I really cared about was getting from A to B and back again for less.

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My approach was simple: pick a random destination, find the cheapest fare on Skyscanner, and fly at any hour to save a few euros — only to spend them at the airport since I had no lounge access.

Trip planning has evolved considerably. I now rarely book round trips, so destination choices often depend on onward connections. I care about seat pitch, in-flight dining quality, and these factors directly influence my airline and route selections.

If you’re new to this world, here are some of my favourite websites for frequent flyers.

For trip planning: Flight Connections

If you want to travel abroad but are flexible on destination — as long as there’s a direct flight — Flight Connections is worth exploring.

The site features a global map of international airports. Select one, and you can see direct routes available from your home base.

The site is free to use, but premium subscribers can also see which routes are most affordable. Alternatively, select a destination on the site, then use Google Flights or Skyscanner to find a deal.

I find this particularly useful for “trip-maxxing” (see below), as it helps identify airports near each other that fly to my home base for the return leg.

For choosing the best seat: AeroLOPA

We’ve all been there — choosing a window seat only to realise there’s no window once you sit down.

AeroLOPA helps you avoid this by showing the best seats on the plane.

Named for Layout of Passenger Accommodations (LOPA), the site displays the design of different aircraft cabins.

It’s free to use, and with an account, you can get recommendations based on seat recline and underseat storage availability.

For ensuring the best views: Which Side of the Plane

While AeroLOPA helps with seat selection, if you’re flying into a scenic airport — such as London City, Queenstown, or Honolulu — you’ll want to check out Which Side of the Plane.

As the name suggests, enter your departure and arrival airports, and it will show you what views to expect from either side of the aircraft.

For organising your itinerary: Tripit

“Trip-maxxing” — stacking multiple cities or countries into one holiday — is on the rise, but tracking multiple plane, train, or bus tickets in a word document or spreadsheet becomes impractical.

Tripit solves this. The website and app organises all your reservations simply by forwarding confirmation emails.

This way, you can view everything from hotel bookings to restaurant reservations in one place without searching through your inbox.

For maximising your miles… It depends

A word of caution: attempting to maximise your points can become quite addictive.

Several websites cater specifically to this, such as Head for Points in the UK or Meilen Junkies in Germany.

Which site is best is hotly debated among frequent flyers, so I’d recommend browsing aggregators like PointsBuzz or MilesFeed, which share links to the latest posts from major sites.

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