American Airlines Rolling Out iPhones and iPads to Flight Attendants and Others Over the Next Year

American Airlines plans to roll out new iPhones and iPads to pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, and aircraft maintenance technicians over the next year, according to a company memo obtained by View from the Wing.

The airline started rolling out the iPhone 12 to its gate agents at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, allowing agents to offer service to customers wherever they are in a terminal, per the memo. If the test program is successful, the iPhone 12 will be rolled out to all of the airline's agents over the next year.

American Airlines maintenance technicians have started receiving the seventh-generation iPad, the memo added. Once that rollout is complete by the end of June, they will no longer need to carry two different tablets for different aircraft and activities.

American Airlines pilots will continue to use iPads. The airline recently added a real-time weather app and a new turbulence awareness app to the devices.

Starting in the first quarter of 2022, American Airlines flight attendants will receive an iPhone 12 for customer service and flight management purposes, according to the memo. The new iPhones will have a customized attachment that will accept multiple forms of payment for in-flight purchases, including contactless payments like Apple Pay.

(Thanks, MyHealthyApple!)