ForeFlight is introducing a Europe region subscription option for its electronic flight bag app this summer, using Germany as its gateway, the company announced on April 18. “We are combining an array of high-quality European data, our Eurocontrol-integrated flight planning and filing capabilities, and a broad suite of navigation and safety features to deliver an integrated flight application for VFR and IFR flying to European pilots,” ForeFlight co-founder and CEO Tyson Weihs told AIN.

Weihs sees the ForeFlight Mobile app as a single-point solution for European pilots. “With one application, pilots can review airport information and maps, review Notams, plan and brief flights for pistons or jets, validate and file flight plans with Eurocontrol, navigate complex airspace, avoid terrain and obstacles with hazard alerts and synthetic vision, and access weather and traffic in flight,” he explained. All European coverage plans include Jeppesen’s digital VFR data directly on the ForeFlight aeronautical map, according to the company. The new European subscription is also a result of ForeFlight's partnership with Jeppesen and makes extensive use of Jeppesen aeronautical data.

Customers can file flight plans directly from the mobile app or on the web. ForeFlight’s global, redundant AFTN connection provides direct and unlimited access to filing flight plans with Eurocontrol at no additional cost or account configuration. Routes from the Graphical Route Advisor can be filtered based on IFR, VFR, YFR, or ZFR flight rules.

The app connects to select Garmin avionics via a Flight Stream 110 or 210 Bluetooth wireless gateway, enabling two-way flight plan transfer and, where available, the display of ADS-B weather, traffic, backup attitude, and GPS position on an iPad or iPhone running ForeFlight Mobile. ForeFlight connects to Garmin's GTX 345 ADS-B Out transponders via Bluetooth to receive GPS, AHRS, pressure altitude, and ADS-B weather and traffic information with select models. The app can also connect via Wi-Fi to Avidyne's IFD 540/440 avionics to receive GPS position and flight plan information. 

The company is offering three plan levels with individual subscriptions: Basic Plus, Pro Plus, and Performance Plus, which range in cost from €89.99 through €269.99, plus additional fees for specific add-ons. Those add-on options include Jeppesen VFR terminal procedures (formerly Bottlang charts), Jeppesen IFR global chart coverages (which is already available), and host nation VFR data packages such as charts and procedures from DFS, the company in charge of air traffic control for Germany.

All subscription plans from the most basic to “Performance Plus” for Europe include Jeppesen’s digital VFR and IFR navigation data, which are dynamically rendered directly on the app’s data-driven aeronautical map, as well as instrument approach procedures, charts, and documents provided via Eurocontrol.

“Our team members in Denmark, Germany, the UK, and Finland, along with our large beta team and thousands of current European customers, have been flying throughout Europe every week and helping us carefully craft a product that works well here,” said ForeFlight European director Kim Lantz.