AirFareTracking

AirFareTracking is a Telegram bot created to solve a very simple problem: understanding when it is actually worth buying a flight.

Flight prices change constantly. The same route can be very cheap one day and much more expensive shortly after. Manually following several routes, checking different dates and remembering to verify prices every day quickly becomes inconvenient. AirFareTracking was built precisely to automate this work: the user sets a search or a monitor, and the bot checks prices on their behalf.

The project initially started for personal use, to keep track of a few routes I was interested in. From there, the idea evolved into a free tool, accessible directly from Telegram, designed for people who want to find convenient flights without using heavy apps, additional accounts or complicated procedures.

What It Offers

AirFareTracking allows users to search for flights between two airports by choosing a route and departure date. The bot returns the cheapest available options, showing price, airline, times, duration, possible stopovers and useful details to quickly compare the results.

The search is not limited to a single airport code. In some cases, users can also use geographic groups or cities with multiple airports, such as Milan, Rome, London, Paris or entire areas like Apulia. This makes it easier to find the best price without manually repeating the same search for every airport in the area.

The bot also supports one-way and round-trip journeys. For complete trips, the system combines the legs and helps identify the most convenient solution, showing the total price and, when available, the separate cost of the outbound and return flights.

Price Monitoring

The main feature of the project is automatic price monitoring. The user chooses a route, a date and a price threshold: when the flight drops below that threshold, they receive a notification directly on Telegram.

The monitoring system is designed to be useful without becoming annoying. The bot does not keep sending the same alert repeatedly: it notifies the user on the first drop below the threshold, then waits. If the price rises above the threshold again, the monitor becomes active once more; if it drops again, the user receives a new notification. This way, the alert truly follows the price trend while avoiding repetitive messages.

Each user can manage their active monitors, see the routes they are tracking, check the current price, view the history and remove alerts they no longer need. Expired monitors are automatically disabled once the flight date has passed.

Price Calendar

AirFareTracking also includes a monthly price calendar. The user chooses a route and a month, and the bot searches for the cheapest days to depart.

This feature is useful when the destination is already decided, but the date is flexible. Instead of checking day by day, the bot quickly shows the best dates of the month, helping the user understand when the flight is cheaper.

During the search, the bot can also suggest dates close to the selected one, allowing the user to consider cheaper alternatives without starting over.

Explore Destinations

In addition to the classic search, the bot includes a “Where can I go with my budget?” mode. The user enters a departure airport, maximum budget and approximate period, and AirFareTracking shows the destinations reachable within that amount.

This feature changes the starting point: instead of asking “how much does it cost to go there?”, it allows users to ask “where can I go with this budget?”. It is designed for people who want to travel while spending less, are flexible about the destination and want to discover opportunities they may not have searched for manually.

When possible, destinations are also shown on an automatically generated map, so the user can immediately visualize the available routes and get a clearer idea of the alternatives.

History and Summaries

For active monitors, AirFareTracking saves the detected price history. This makes it possible to see how a route changes over time and understand whether a price is truly interesting compared to previous checks.

The bot can show charts and summaries for monitored routes, so the user does not only see the current price, but also the evolution of the route they are following.

There is also a periodic summary for users with active monitors: an overview of the tracked routes, updated prices and distance from the selected threshold. This makes the bot useful even when there are no immediate drops, because it keeps the user informed about the general trend.

Telegram Experience

AirFareTracking was built to work entirely inside Telegram. Users can use text commands or navigate through buttons, menus and guided flows.

The bot includes airport search, guided date selection, main menu, alert management, language switching, feedback section and quick commands. The goal is to keep the experience simple even for users who do not want to remember commands or airport codes.

The project is bilingual, Italian and English. Users can change language directly from the bot, and the main messages are adapted according to the selected preference.

Privacy and Data Management

AirFareTracking does not require registration and does not use external accounts. The user opens the bot on Telegram and can start using it immediately.

The system stores only the information needed for the service to work: language preference, configured monitors, price history for tracked routes and feedback messages sent voluntarily. There is also a function to delete personal data directly from the bot.

This choice keeps the experience lightweight and consistent with the idea behind the project: a practical, fast tool focused on saving money, without turning into a complex platform.

Management and Administration

Behind the bot there is also an administration area. This makes it possible to check the general status of the service, monitor usage, read received feedback, reply to users and get an overview of active monitors.

This part is important because AirFareTracking is not just a personal script: it was designed as a service that can be used by multiple users, with maintenance, statistics, message management and long-term behavior monitoring.

Why I Built It

I built AirFareTracking because flight prices are one of those things that change too often to be followed manually with consistency. If a route really matters to you, checking it once in a while is not enough; but doing it every day becomes a waste of time.

The idea of the bot is to remove that effort from the user: you set what you are interested in, choose how much you would like to spend and let the system check for you. Telegram was the ideal channel because it is immediate, lightweight and already designed for quick notifications.

The most interesting part of the project was turning a personal need into a tool that anyone can use: flight search, monitoring, price calendar, budget-based exploration, maps, history, notifications and user management, all inside a simple conversation.

Links

• Bot: @Airfaretracking_bot
• Telegram channel: AirFareTracking