Australian low-cost airline Jetstar will be the first to offer iPads on its flights. While other airlines have made announcements to do the same, Jetstar should be the first to have iPads in the air when it starts a two-week trial at the end of this month.
Planes will be provided with around 30 iPads, available to rent for $10 Australian (around US$8.50), and they will be filled up with movies, TV shows, games, books and music.
This is actually a pretty smart way to get in-flight entertainment to customers without investing in seat-back screens and the like. It is also interesting from the point-of-view of iPad developers. Instead of corporate negotiations deciding what is available on board, a trip to the iTunes Store should take care of everything, giving independents the same chance of inclusion as the big names (along with some great publicity).
And as you can sync as many portable devices as you like with one iTunes account, it should be pretty cheap for Jetstar to load them up. Presumably these iPads will be branded in some way to stop attendants from trying to nab passengers’ personal iPads, and also to stop customers trying to make of with them.
Jetstar to test iPad as inflight entertainment [Asia One]
Jetstar to trial iPads for IFE [Australian Aviation]
Image: Jetstar
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