Hawaiian Airlines is planning to augment its in-flight Entertainment systems with 1,500 iPad minis. Beginning in September, the airline will supply passengers with Apple’s tablets on all of its Boeing 767–300 aircraft that fly 14 routes between Hawaii, the U.S. Mainland, Asia, and South Pacific.
The iPad minis, supplied by Bluebox Avionics, will come equipped with 100 hours of movies and TV shows, along with various iPad games. While the iPad minis are complimentary in Business Class, they can also be rented by economy passengers for $15 ahead of flights (or $17 in-flight).
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"Hawaiian Airlines' signature on-board hospitality is already very popular with travelers, but we wanted to go even further to ensure our customers’ travel experience is more enjoyable," said Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian Airlines vice president of product development.
Hawaiian Airlines plans to begin offering the iPad minis beginning on September 1, and is the first airline to offer iPad minis as in-flight entertainment. Australian airline Qantas began offering its passengers access to iPads earlier this year.
Top Rated Comments
i rather get delayed a day than to have a plane fall from the sky due to engine failure. I say that's a good move, realizing that there is a problem with the plane and landing it. Might have saved your life.
If the plane behind you almost hit you then that's a very serious offense and one that would not have gone unnoticed by the FAA, NTSB, and local air traffic control. If engine failure occurred during takeoff, all traffic would be halted until your plane was completely clear of the runway, at which time the plane behind you would then proceed to takeoff provided the runway is clear of debris. Despite all that, if the plane behind you did nearly hit you, I'd be more than interested to find the reports on this. Lots of engine failures are also undetectable on the ground: they can be from anything to old parts, to disrupted airflow because of rain, hail, etc., or a number of things that can't be foreseen.
Engine failure in flight doesn't guarantee a plane will fall out of the sky unless the engine violently exploded and even then it could still keep flying. This has happened but it is rare (a recent incident being that Qantas A380 a few years ago where the pilot still managed to land safely). The everyday compressor stall won't bring a plane down. Most aircraft, including quad-jets, can fly on 1 engine. Typically engine failure means the pilot will quickly land at a nearby airport at which point the flight will get delayed a day anyway, like you stated.
To add something to the article: I'd guess they didn't wait for the iPad Mini 2 because they've probably already been planning around the current iPad mini for months and months, and a new release is too unimportant for them to disrupt their service schedule.
So true. I have a feeling what actually happened was Liquorpuki's plane taxied to a turnout at the end of the runway, and the next plane was cleared for takeoff. I've had this happen twice on flights I've been on, and both times the noise from the next plane taking off was extremely loud. I can see how it might sound like a much closer call than it actually was.
I fly about 75,000 miles per year, and let me tell you it's a drag when things don't go as planned. But I promise that the folks at the airline are trying their best to get your plane out on time. Sometimes it doesn't work out.
I take it then that the other poster that I quoted doesn't have a clue what they are talking about?
Let's say 150 iPads on an airplane. Total weight about 100 pound. You lose 150 other displays, you lose the equipment that can stream from a central hard drive to 150 displays and all the related cabling. The cabling will be particularly awful in an airplane. I'd think they get great savings in weight and in cost.