As we have reported on in the past, some foreign airlines were choosing to supply passengers and crew with iPads. This choice was made for many reasons, saving money on paper, giving pilots faster access to information, etc. This week according to tuaw.com, the FCC has given American Airlines the green light for iPads to be included in their flight bag.
“The iPads will be available to pilots of the company’s Boeing 777 planes in the coming weeks. After the company secures approval, it will then roll out the iPad to other fleet planes by the end of 2012. The airline hopes to stop issuing paper revisions of its manuals and navigation charts by January 2013.”
Not only is this a first for the American travel industry, but a sign of big changes to come for the consumer as well. The test phase won’t last long, and AA says if all goes as planned,, it would like to see flight attendants with tablets as well to better handle travelers’ needs. Over the past few months, many reports have hinted that most airlines are heading towards all flights having WiFi (currently only some airlines offer this service) capability for passengers.
Just imagine the ability to enjoy your entire flight with the usage of WiFi, and some airlines are kicking around the idea of supplying passengers with iPads. I know that the airline food still needs some work, but I think airlines are starting to understand some of our other needs.
Source: Tuaw.com
