Sky DutyAirplane Manager Alternative for Flight Departments
Airplane Manager is a long-running, web-based flight scheduling and management platform for corporate and private flight departments. Sky Duty is a modern, native iOS alternative that runs the same operation offline-first at $39 per month per aircraft.
Both run a flight department's day-to-day operations. Airplane Manager is the established web app with deep breadth and a large integration ecosystem; Sky Duty is the modern, offline-first iPhone and iPad app at a lower per-aircraft price. Which fits depends on whether you want web-era breadth or a native, mobile-first tool.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Sky Duty | Airplane Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Native iOS App (App Store) | Web app (PWA) | |
| Offline-First | Partial | |
| Gantt Scheduling | ||
| Pilot Logbook + FAA Currency | Flight logs | |
| Maintenance Tracking | ||
| Expense Tracking + Receipt Scanning | ||
| Passenger Itineraries + Tripsheets | ||
| eAPIS / Customs / Intl Handling | ||
| Accounting Integration (QuickBooks) | ||
| Transparent Self-Serve Pricing |
Airplane Manager strengths
- Established since 2009 with a deep, aviation-specific feature set
- Passenger itineraries, tripsheets, eAPIS and customs handling, and an FBO and fuel directory
- Large integration ecosystem, including QuickBooks and major maintenance-tracking platforms
- Transparent, self-serve Corporate pricing with a 30-day free trial
Sky Duty advantages
- Native iPhone and iPad app, not a browser-based web app
- True offline-first sync — schedule, log, scan, and file squawks with no signal, then sync on reconnect
- $39/mo per aircraft with unlimited users, below Airplane Manager's published Corporate plans
- Integrated pilot logbook with FAA currency that auto-fills from completed trips
- The visual iPad Gantt board at the center of a modern, touch-first interface
Why this comparison matters
Airplane Manager and Sky Duty compete for the same buyer — a small corporate or private flight department that wants scheduling, maintenance, expenses, and flight records in one place instead of a stack of spreadsheets. Airplane Manager has been doing that job as a web-based product since 2009, and it shows. The feature set is broad and genuinely aviation-specific: passenger itineraries and tripsheets, eAPIS and customs handling, an FBO and fuel directory, flight-plan filing, and integrations to QuickBooks and the major maintenance-tracking platforms. Its Corporate pricing is public and self-serve with a 30-day trial, which is an honest, buyer-friendly setup. For a department that lives in those workflows, that breadth is a real strength, and none of this comparison is an attempt to pretend otherwise. Where the two part ways is architecture and price. Airplane Manager is a progressive web app — you install it from the browser, and as a browser-based web app it offers more limited offline use than a native, offline-first app. Sky Duty is a native iPhone and iPad app built offline-first from the ground up: you can build the schedule, log a flight, scan a receipt, or file a squawk with no signal at all, and everything syncs when you reconnect. Sky Duty also carries an integrated pilot logbook with FAA currency that auto-fills from completed trips, and the visual iPad Gantt board is the center of a touch-first interface rather than a web timeline. On price, Sky Duty is $39 per month per aircraft with unlimited users, while Airplane Manager's published Corporate plans start around $150 per month for a single aircraft. So the choice is honest and clear. If your department depends on passenger handling, international trip paperwork, charter-style tripsheets, or a QuickBooks accounting hand-off, Airplane Manager covers ground Sky Duty does not, and it is a proven, established choice. If you want a modern, native, offline-first app that a whole small department can run from an iPhone or iPad at a lower per-aircraft price — with scheduling, a real pilot logbook, maintenance, and receipt-scanning expenses in one place — Sky Duty is the more direct fit. Sky Duty is deliberately not a charter-sales or accounting suite; it is the operational backbone for flying the aircraft and keeping the department's records straight.
Switching from Airplane Manager
Moving to Sky Duty is a forward switch, not a migration project. Download the native app, add your tail numbers, and Sky Duty pulls each aircraft's details from the FAA registry in seconds. Build your first trip on the Gantt board, and the logbook starts filling itself in from completed flights. Keep exporting whatever records you need out of Airplane Manager for your files; your Sky Duty data exports to PDF and CSV at any time, so nothing is locked in. Because pricing is per aircraft with unlimited users, you can put the whole department — pilots, dispatcher, owner, and mechanic — on it during the 14-day trial without counting seats. If your operation leans on passenger handling, eAPIS and customs paperwork, or a QuickBooks hand-off, weigh that honestly: those are areas Airplane Manager covers and Sky Duty does not.
See what Sky Duty offers
Guides and tools
Frequently Asked Questions
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Ready to simplify your flight ops?
Scheduling, logbook, maintenance, expenses, and fleet management in one app. Available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
