Patent ID: 8634862

Claim:
A flight tracking method comprising: registering a subscriber endpoint device with a legacy telecommunication network; registering the subscriber endpoint device with a notification system extension to the legacy telecommunication network; accepting a flight tracking request comprising a flight identifier; receiving an airline service flight update at the legacy telecommunication network; after receiving the airline service flight update, inserting, into an existing contact list associated with the subscriber end point device, a flight contact entry linked to the flight identifier to obtain an updated contact list, wherein the existing contact list stores a plurality of contact entries, each contact entry being associated with a contact from which the subscriber endpoint device accepts messages; notifying the subscriber endpoint device through the notification system extension of the updated contact list including the flight contact entry; maintaining a flight status responsive to the airline service flight update; determining whether the subscriber endpoint device is present and available to communicate with the notification system extension; if the subscriber endpoint device is present and available to communicate with the notification system extension, communicating the flight status to the subscriber endpoint in a flight contact object status message for the existing contact list via the notification system extension; and if the subscriber endpoint device is not present and available to communicate with the notification system extension, communicating the flight status to the subscriber endpoint device as a Short Message Service (SMS) via the legacy telecommunication network.