Good news if you’re taking an American Airlines flight any time soon: it’s just become the latest airline to allow personal electronics use throughout entire flights
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Virgin America, the airline that invented the sassy in-flight safety video, has rolled out a brand new sassy in-flight safety video: A live-action musical number. It’s still heads and shoulders above most airlines, but is it the best?
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Got a 5 hour flight but only an hour or two worth of battery left on your gadgets? Depending on your airline, you may have a power outlet or USB port in your seat. Here’s how to find out which planes have some extra juice to give.
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Last week, an FAA advisory committee recommended
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Starting September 1st, people flying Hawaiian Airlines will get the chance to spend some R&R time with an iPad mini thousands of feet in the air. It’s all thanks to the company contracting Blue Avionics to switch its existing in-flight entertainment systems (IES) with 1,500 miniature iPads on 14 Boeing 767-300 planes. Business class passengers can stream movies and shows for free, but unlike American Airlines’ Galaxy Tab program available only to premium seats, anyone onboard can rent a teensy tablet. Sure, it’ll cost them $15 for the perk — $17, if they decided to do so on a whim while already on the plane — but the existing system will cost them the same amount anyway. iPads on planes aren’t anything new — AA and Alaska Airlines have both ditched flight manuals for their digital counterparts, while Qantas and Jetstar Airways have been renting them out for years. However, HA is the first U.S. airline to offer iPads for in-flight entertainment, and some patrons might see that as a welcome change.
Via: 9to5mac
Flying can be so very boring. But Southwest Airlines is making it a little less of a yawn fest, and it won’t cost you anything. The airline just added a free, on-demand and live TV inflight streaming service called TV Flies Free in partnership with DISH.
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Some airlines and aircraft makers have made a big deal of moving to tablet-based flight bags, but few can say they’ve made a complete switch. American Airlines can — it just finished deploying iPad-based kits to all its cockpits, which can use the tablets at every stage of flight. The move lets the carrier ditch paper charts and manuals across the board, with an according round of savings in fuel and weight. Regional partners haven’t made the leap to digital, although that may come soon: American Eagle Airlines will have the choice of using iPad flight bags starting on July 10th. While most of us in the passenger seats will never notice the difference, the shift will likely help American’s bottom line.
Filed under: Tablets, Transportation, Apple
Source: American Airlines
Many of us avoid flying with checked baggage when possible, and for good reason: even a simple delay can sour a whole trip. Airbus’ new Bag2Go prototype could save us from having to pack light, however. The smart luggage carries a raft of sensors that work with an iOS app to bypass the usual airport drudgery. Its RFID chip lets travelers check in their bag and link it to every step of their itinerary; in theory, couriers can ship baggage to the hotel at a lower cost than usual. Bag2Go should also provide some reassurance through GPS tracking and alerts to any possible tampering. Airbus is still early into development, but it foresees a business model where customers can either buy a Bag2Go suitcase at a premium or rent one for a long vacation. As for us? We’ll just be happy if our luggage avoids an unexpected detour to Belize.
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
Via: MacRumors, Australian Business Traveller
Source: Design Q (Vimeo)
Airbus isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket — or rather, one bag. While it already has a suite of iPad cockpit apps to assist pilots, the aircraft maker is hedging its bet with a deal to use Dell Latitude laptops as electronic flight bags on the A320 family. Crews will get the Latitude E6330 installed as a Class-2 device that can link up with the A320’s avionics; as you’d expect, the PCs will also ship with software for maps, manuals and weather. We’ve reached out to learn just which carriers are going this route, although possible expansion to other Airbus vehicles could make Dell a common sight at 36,000 feet.
Filed under: Laptops, Transportation, Dell
Source: Dell
Now that Boeing has received the all-clear to implement its battery fix for the 787 Dreamliner, aviation buffs have mostly been left waiting to hear when they can once again climb aboard the advanced jet. It might be a short wait, according to CEO Jim McNerney. During a fiscal results call, he anticipated 787 deliveries resuming in early May, with all 50 aircraft fixed by the middle of that month. Passengers will just have to wait for airlines to resume (or establish) scheduled flights before they can once more enjoy some modern mid-air luxury.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Reuters
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