iAPIS rant

[Greg Arehart]

Well, headed across the border soon and decided to use the new iAPIS for the iPad. Says it's free on the download but once you put in all the info and send an automated request to the CBP people, a screen pops up and says it costs to use the service. I probably would have paid for the app, but having it say it's free and then suddenly get a charge kind of pi$$es me off. I consider this false advertising and will not use the service - just stick with the regular eAPIS through Firefox.

Mostly wanted to give others a heads up that things are not as they appear for this app.

Greg

[Vlad]

I filed from Canada with eApis yesterday using iPad regular way took 4 minutes. No need for app I think.

[RV-4]

Hi Greg

I'm not sure which APP you're talking about but I have used https://www.flashpass.net/ to file my AEPIS manifest and it is free to try for a month or more ( if you ask for an extention ) then it is $60.00 / year..

It was worth every penny for me..

Bruno

[RickWoodall]

The Eapis site does suck, but once you bulldoze through the initial learning curve its pretty easy. I cant see the big need for a extra cost third party app. Have a buddy help the first time or two and your good to go. A bunch of us in Canada were very intimidated trying it...but now its literally 5 minutes trouble.

[Greg Arehart]

I've done the regular eAPIS for several years, and it is pretty simple and routine. I was just thinking/hoping that this new thing would make it a bit easier, particularly on the iPad (most of the time I use a regular Macbook, but am trying to go light this trip thus an iPad-specific app seemed useful). I looked at Flashpass also (even signed up, not knowing that it was also a pay-for service). I'm just mostly irritated that these folks put something out there that says "free" when it really is not. If it said "$9.99" I probably would have paid for it but now won't use it on principle even if it's cheap.

End of rant.

Greg

[Morgan]

Originally Posted by Greg Arehart

Well, headed across the border soon and decided to use the new iAPIS for the iPad. Says it's free on the download but once you put in all the info and send an automated request to the CBP people, a screen pops up and says it costs to use the service. I probably would have paid for the app, but having it say it's free and then suddenly get a charge kind of pi$$es me off. I consider this false advertising and will not use the service - just stick with the regular eAPIS through Firefox.

Mostly wanted to give others a heads up that things are not as they appear for this app.

Greg

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your feedback on iAPIS. I'd like to introduce myself as the developer behind the app and address a couple of your points.

First of all, thanks for downloading the app even if though it didn't turn out to be what you had hoped. I would like to say that we make it clear at several points that submitting manifests are not free. The description in the App Store makes this clear and also the home screen of the app mentions that there is a small fee for sending a manifest. What we don't do well is show exactly how much that manifest costs... currently you have to get to the point of submitting a manifest (or check the App Store page) to find out. In the next version of iAPIS we update the home screen so that the manifest price is always clearly displayed.

Secondly, the actual number of pilots who fly across the US border is pretty low. The reality is that iAPIS is a niche app targeting a niche audience of an already niche marketplace. If we sold the app at a fixed cost it is unlikely we would ever cover our costs nor make enough to invest in improving the software. We decided that by allowing the app to be downloaded for free it would allow pilots to try the functionality and determine if it was a utility they were keen to utilise, without committing any expenditure. We have priced the manifests at what we consider a low and fair price and the marketplace can now decide if they want to use an app like iAPIS or FlashPass or to stick with the eAPIS web site. From a pilot's perspective I think it's great that there is choice. I remember back in the dark old days when there was simply eAPIS and boy was it confusing!

We at iAPIS are passionate pilots and love the aviation community to bits. We think its wonderful to see the iPhone and iPad changing aviation and hope that we can make a small contribution to making pilots' lives a little more easy.

Thanks again for the feedback,

Morgan

[Bevan]

Originally Posted by Morgan

I remember back in the dark old days when there was simply eAPIS and boy was it confusing!

Morgan

As I recall, back in the "dark old days", no computer was required for crossing the border!, and it was a very simple process.

Bevan

[Ron Lee]

Originally Posted by Bevan

As I recall, back in the "dark old days", no computer was required for crossing the border!, and it was a very simple process.

Yea. They are our neighbors. We should not have to go through such hoops to visit.

[az_gila]

I just want to know which committee decided to issue user names that have both a letter "O" and a number "0" in them...

[DrillBit]

Originally Posted by az_gila

I just want to know which committee decided to issue user names that have both a letter "O" and a number "0" in them...

ICANN--Internet Committee for Asinine Names and Numbers.