Tablet computing takes off
American Airlines doesn't appear to have any doubts that the age of the tablet has arrived. Not only does the company plan to replace its in-flight entertainment with Galaxy Tabs, it will also be ditching paper charts in in favour of an iPad application.
Thanks to the Federal Aviation Administration removing the restrictions that previously meant iPads had to be turned off during take-off and landing, American Airlines will be able to outfit its pilots with the tablet. AA will be replacing the numerous paper forms its pilots have to fill out with digital versions, all accessed via an iPad.
The weight saving of around 35lb per flight will save American Airlines an estimated $1.2 million a year in fuel costs, so it's not as strange a plan as it might sound. Plus, it's to be expected that AA will find other uses for the iPads its aircraft are fitted with - even if it's just providing its pilots with a little mid-flight entertainment.
American Airlines passengers will be getting the tablet treatment, too, as the airline will be replacing its current entertainment system with 10.1in Galaxy Tabs. American Airlines is rolling out 6,000 Tabs on a select number of routes.
Sas Samsung: "The tablets will replace the airline's current personal entertainment device in American's premium cabins on transcontinental flights between New York's JFK and Los Angeles, JFK and San Francisco, and Miami and Los Angeles served with 767-200 and 767-300 aircraft; international flights to and from Europe and South America served with 767-300 aircraft; and transcontinental flights departing from Boston to Los Angeles served with 757 aircraft."
Samsung, for its part, will be providing customised Tabs to American Airlines with expanded memory - presumably required to fit the full catalogue of content AA provides. It's likely that if this initial deployment proves a success, the airline will look to provide more routes with in-flight tablets - Samsung, meanwhile, will surely just be happy to get its product in potential customers' hands.
