Flight comparison and booking website WhichAirline.com has published a Windows Phone app that aims to make it easier to search for flights from your smartphone. The Whichairlines app searches across more than 100,000 routes, including those run by low cost carriers, such as EasyJet and RyanAir. Search results, which are filtered by quality (duration and length), are shown in a clean user interface that allows at a glance comparison of timings and pricing. Once you've selected your required flights you are taken to the airline's website for booking.

Rather than create a full native Windows Phone app WhichAirline.com have opted to created a wrapper around the mobile version of their website. For an app that relies on an Internet connection to be useful this is a reasonable option, but does mean the look and feel on the app is more generic mobile than Windows Phone sprecific and performance is dependent on the speed and quality of the data connection. 

The app does have a few other foibles, such as an inability to remember which currency was selected on the previous use, but this is not uncommon for web-based apps where a hybrid mode and features such as settings require additional work to implement.

Comparing the Whichairline app with competing app Skyscanner is a good illustration of the pitfalls of the web-based versus native app on Windows Phone. Both get the job done, but Skyscanner feels like a more polished experience and fits in better with the Windows Phone look and feel. Regardless both apps are useful utilities for regular travellers who want the convenience of being able perform a quick flight comparison search from their phone.

Windows Phone Store description:

Find the best flights easily in a unique visual interface. Search all airlines (low cost airlines such as Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet included!) as well as all major travel agents. 

• Compare flights from all airlines including low cost airlines (Vueling, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Volotea, Air One...) and major travel agents (Opodo, ebookers and Skypicker included)
• Search more than 100.000 routes and find the best cheap alternatives available. 
• Flights ordered by quality - for each flight, both cost and duration are assessed. 
• Quality line - the best flights are selected and shown at the top, you don't have to go through thousands of results to pick the best. 
• Visualized & easy-to-use flight search results 
• Search from/to multiple destinations

Whichairline is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. It is only available for Windows Phone 8.