Flight tracking marker bakeoff
Six ways to show that Viators is watching a flight, on the trip timeline. Each option is shown in the three states that matter: not tracked, watching (timetable or subscription pending) and live. Today's build is Option 0 — two stacked chips.
Not tracked · no flight number, or outside any watch
Watching · timetable checks, or live tracking armed
Live · FlightByte is pushing updates
Option 0 — Two chips
shipping now
What's on viators.net today. The tracking chip stacks under the status chip, so a row carries two grey pills saying different things.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
4:35 PM
7:55 PM
TrackingScheduled
live
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
4:35 PM
7:55 PM
LiveOn Time
Option A — One chip, dot carries tracking
recommended
The status chip stays the only chip. A dot in front of the label carries the tracking state: hollow ring while watching, solid green pulsing when live, nothing when untracked. One object, two facts.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
Option B — Green light, no words
Your green light, standing alone beside the status chip. Grey dot means watching; green pulsing dot means live. Nothing to read, so nothing to misread — but a first-time traveller has to learn what the dot means.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
Option C — Antenna icon
A radio-waves glyph beside the flight code: outline grey while watching, green when live. Reads as "receiving" rather than "recording", and it is the same SF Symbol on iOS, Material icon on Android.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
Option D — The timeline bullet itself
No new element at all. The rail dot each row already has becomes the signal: hollow while watching, solid green and pulsing when live. The quietest option, and it reads down the whole day at a glance — but it competes with the rail's job of marking time.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
Option E — Haloed glyph in the trailing slot
A circular badge sits where the chevron would, carrying an eye while watching and a filled antenna when live. The most product-looking of the set, and the most chrome to carry on every flight row.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
Option F — Dot replaces the status word while live
Watching stays invisible on the timeline and lives only on the detail screen; live earns a green dot plus the one word that changes, so the timeline stays quiet until there is news. Honest about which state a traveller can act on.
not tracked
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
watching
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
live · delayed
BKK → SIN TG 409
Scheduled 2h 20m · THB 3,930
4:35 PM
7:55 PM
Delayed 25m
Where I'd land
- Option A for the timeline. One chip per row, so "Tracking" and "Scheduled" can never fight; the dot adds a second fact without a second object, and the live pulse is the part that earns attention.
- Option B is the closest to your green light and the cheapest to build, but a lone dot has to be taught, and a grey dot next to a grey chip is easy to miss.
- Option D is the most elegant and the riskiest: the rail bullet already means "a thing happens here", and giving it a second job dilutes both.
- Option F is worth taking seriously if you think watching is simply not news. It costs nothing on screen and keeps the green light meaningful.
Whichever wins, the detail screen keeps the sentence — Checking the timetable · last checked Nov 14 9:07 AM · live tracking from Nov 15 — so the dot never has to carry the explanation.