Dayton flight, other info to be available on phones

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DAYTON — By the end of February, Dayton International Airport travelers should have access on their mobile phones to information about flight schedules and delays, weather conditions, hotels and airport vendors.

It is the result of an expanded service agreement with Massachusetts-based vendor FlightView Inc., city aviation director Terrence G. Slaybaugh said Thursday. The enhanced service includes up-to-the-minute Federal Aviation Administration data about flights, plus video maps showing flight movements, he said.

The goal is to allow users of hand-held electronic devices access to all the information that is now, or soon will be, available at the airport on video display boards or through its website flydayton.com, Slaybaugh said.

The Dayton City Commission on Wednesday approved an amended agreement to pay FlightView $26,292 annually, an increase from the prior $7,200 per year, for the expanded services. The three-year contract includes a $6,950 set-up fee, for an overall total of $85,826.

Dayton will rely on FlightView for the flight information services that the city previously contracted for with FlightView and a second vendor, OAG.

The airport can use the new system to build on the information it offers travelers, Slaybaugh said. In future, airport officials hope to offer service in which travelers can use their mobile phones to order a meal from an airport concession while driving to the terminal.

The real-time information directly from the FAA on flight schedules, cancellations and delays will be an improvement on the airport’s prior custom of relying on the airlines to pass that information along to the airport, he said.

The new services should be operating by the end of this month, he said.

Air travelers have been asking for mobile access to airport information. Those requests have become more visible since August 2011 when the airport launched its social-media communication with the public on Twitter and Facebook, Slaybaugh said.

It is part of the Dayton airport’s ongoing effort to modernize. In April, the airport expects to seek bids for replacement and upgrades of signage that directs passengers from the curb to their gates. That project could be done in six months, Slaybaugh said.

Also in April, the airport could request bids to renovate its restrooms, likely a year-long program. The signage and bathroom projects together could cost $6 million, representing work for contractors, he said.

Dayton will rely on FlightView for the information services that the city previously contracted for with FlightView and a second vendor, OAG.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.