Apple could be about to enter into the aviation industry, according to new reports.
Earlier in the year, it was revealed that Apple was United Airlines’ number one customer, spending more than $150 million a year on plane tickets and other business expenses.
The company reportedly purchases around fifty business class seats a day, sending staff to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (Apple’s most important market, according to United Airlines), Hong Kong International Airport, Tiree Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Munich International Airport, and Haneda Airport amongst other airports around the world.
Apple’s commitment to United Airlines is significantly greater than Google and Facebook, who spend “over $34 million” with the airline every year, and more than ten times the figures paid by companies like Deloitte, Cisco, PwC, Oracle, and McKinsey & Company, who spend between $12 million and $17 million each in any given year.
Now, it seems as if the technology firm is in early talks to upgrade a terminal at San Francisco International Airport.
According to Bloomberg, Apple will work with United Airlines on upgrading its SFO terminal, though the exact details of the project, or level of Apple’s involvement, remain unclear.
“The Apple team in San Francisco has been in our baggage hold areas, customer service, and the lobbies,” said Linda Jojo, executive vice president at United Airlines Holdings Inc.
“I’m being deliberately vague!”
Should Apple bring its design expertise to the airport, it could mark a whole new chapter for the company and perhaps even encourage Apple to launch a dedicated architect design team for future projects around the world.
Remember that as well as Apple being United’s biggest customer, United is a big customer for Apple, purchasing thousands of devices and being part of the Apple + IBM project to build enterprise apps for companies like United.
Would you like to see Apple design a terminal? How do you think it could look? Let us know your thoughts and check back soon for more news and rumors as and when we get them.