Qantas expands in-flight iPad program for passengers
Back in 2010, we reported that Qantas Airways' Jetstar flights would offer iPads to passengers as in-flight entertainment, and in 2011 the program began testing on the carrier's own jets. Now the Hindustan Times is reporting that the Australian airline has expanded the in-flight iPad program.
Qantas's Boeing 767 aircraft (16 in total) operating on flights between Sydney and Honolulu are now equipped with iPads, which allow passengers to stream more than 200 hours of movies, TV shows and music during the flight. The music and video entertainment is streamed directly to the iPads over the plane's onboard WiFi via Qantas's inflight entertainment technology, Q Streaming. Qantas says that newspapers and magazines, interactive games and business / travel apps will be added to the service over the coming months.
The market for budget airlines operating in and around Australia and Asia is increasingly competitive, and Qantas hopes the iPads will lure would-be travelers. Meanwhile, other airlines are making different choices for tablet technology; American, which already provides iPads for pilot flight manuals, is going with Samsung tablets running Android for flight attendants, premium passenger entertainment and maintenance workers.
