Australian flight operator Qantas Airways has decided to embrace the digital age and begin offering the Apple iPad 2 as a method of in-flight entertainment on their planes.
The pilot scheme (pardon the pun) will put a customised iPad 2 into the hands of every passenger, giving access to movies which can be streamed over Wi-Fi from a data server based on the plane itself.
Between the end of October and early December, one 254-seat Boeing 767-300 plane for Qantas Airways will be trialling the new scheme. The plane will fly a series of different routes, including Sydney to Melbourne and cross-continent too, so if you’re headed to or from Australia in the coming months there’s a chance you could be on an iFlight.
Each of the iPad 2s onboard will be customised to always display a “Q Streaming” app that has been developed specially for Qantas. You won’t be able to exit to the home screen or switch out to other applications though. Yes, that means no Angry Birds on your flight. We’re pretty gutted too.
Qantas Executive Manager for Customer Experience Alison Webster explains the reason for locking down the iPads onboard: “if anyone decides they want to ‘borrow’ one it won’t have any capability off the aircraft.” Understandable really.
The Q Streaming application lets passengers browse through movies available from an online server. A total of Five wireless access points are available throughout the 767-300 jet, ensuring a solid connection throughout the aircraft for all customers.
If you’re fortunate enough to already have an iPad 2 or another smart gadget such as a smartphone or laptop, Qantas Airways will be happy to let you bring it onboard and hook it up to their Q Streaming app to view the same movies and content.
With your own device you’ll be able to download content and view it up to 24 hours after you’ve left the aircraft.
Qantas are using the trial to see how well it works, with a view to extending it onto other aircraft in their fleet by next year. If the trial proves to be successful, special brackets may be fitted to the rear of seating in Qantas aircraft which will hold an iPad 2.
The iPad has really taken off (couldn’t resist) in the consumer flight industry, with airways such as Delta Airlines and American Airlines giving an iPad to their pilots and in-flight crew to replace traditional paper documents and manuals.
Android systems are planned for implementation on a future Boeing 767 Dreamliner plane in the near future, proving that smartphones and tablets are the future of in-flight entertainment.