Hawaiian Airlines has announced that from September 1st it will swap its in-flight entertainment systems with Apple‘s iPad Minis, but this facility is not offered on all routes and is limited to specific routes. With this announcement, Hawaiian Airlines has become the first U.S.-based airline that is going to offer iPads as entertainment solutions during flight. As a result of this announcement all 767-300 aircrafts of the Haiwaiian Airlines will carry iPad Minis from next month. This means that 1500 iPad Minis will be deployed in 14 plans that will cover 14 routes, which ranges from Hawaii to the U.S. and some countries of Asia.
The vice president of product development at Hawaiian Airlines, Blaine Miyasato said that, “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. With the help of Bluebox Avionics, we’re building on our acclaimed inflight service by incorporating the latest in popular consumer tech products to enhance our in-flight entertainment options.”
In order to replace the in-flight systems apart from deploying the iPad Minis, Hawaiian Airline will also load the 7-inch slates with the ability to access a number of newly released TV shows, movies and games. Those, who will be travelling on the Business Class of Hawaiian Airlines, will get these iPads without paying any charges, while those who travel in other classes will be able to get the 7-inch slate after paying $15 in case of pre-reservation and $17 in case on flight demand.
The previous entertainment systems on Hawaiian Airlines were also offered at $15 during each flight, which means that the company has not increased its charges for iPad Minis. These mini slates will be available on the given below routes:
“Hawaiian Airlines currently operates the wide-body, twin-aisle Boeing 767-300 aircraft between Honolulu and Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Seattle, Phoenix in the U.S.; Fukuoka and Sendai, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Brisbane, Australia; Papeete, Tahiti; and Pago Pago, American Samoa. In addition, Hawaiian Airlines B767 routes also include service between Kahului, Maui and San Jose, Oakland and Seattle.”
Certainly, this was not the first time that Apple’s iPads have found their way to a flight, as previously American Airlines and JetBlue have given the 10-inch iOS tablet to their pilots and cockpits so they could run mapping tools on it along with other significant in-flight functions. In addition to this, outside U.S. Australian airline Qantas has also integrated iPads in its seats, so travellers could use them for entertainment purpose.
Source: 9to5Mac
Photo: 9to5Mac