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Missing Malaysia Airlines flight search yields valuable seafloor data
In 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 disappeared from radar and a massive search for the missing aircraft ensued. For two years, scientists used sonar to map the seafloor where the plane was thought to have crashed, and then search for any remnants. Nothing was found and the search was officially called off this past January, but the data collected during the search has now been released.
Malaysia Airlines will be first to monitor its planes by satellite
Three years ago, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared over the South China Sea, starting an multinational hunt for the plane. Despite rumors of a sophisticated hijacking or seizure of the aircraft by a foreign government, it was presumed lost in the ocean. To prevent another disaster over open water, the UN pushed for particular plane signal system that can be tracked from the ground or by satellite. But Malaysia Airlines just struck a deal to use a network of the latter that will enable them to monitor their planes anywhere they fly on earth -- including over the polar ice caps.
Coming soon: pick airline seatmates via social networks
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plans to launch a service in 2012 that will enable you to pick who you sit next to on an airplane by visiting their Facebook or LinkedIn pages. "Meet & Seat" will be an opt-in service (similar to that already toyed with by Malaysia Airlines), so you can still fly anonymously -- as anonymous as air travel gets these days, anyway. It could be great for making friends or developing business contacts on your next international flight, or it could make for some really awkward conversation too. "So, your Facebook profile says you like Justin Bieber?"
Malaysia Airlines offering iPad check-in
The next time you're in Kuala Lumpur, check out the Petronas Towers. On the way home, don't miss the airport's ticket kiosks. You'll find that they're powered by iPads. Malaysia Airlines has stuffed iPads running their app MHmobile into 9 self-checkout kiosks. As you see in the video above, using the app is just as easy as you'd expect and a whole lot less ugly than some kiosk software I've seen. I've never been an IT manager at an airport, but I'd imagine that setting one of these things up would cost less than other methods. Plus, updates are simple: just download a new version of the app. Of course, you can get that re-create that airport excitement whenever you want by downloading the app yourself. Minus the overpriced food, crying babies and stale air, of course. [Via Engadget]
Malaysia Airlines now offers iPad check-in (video)
It's getting easier and easier to enjoy in-flight entertainment on Apple's briskly moving tablet, but why wait till you get to the gate to dive in? If you're flying out of Kuala Lumpur, you can play with that 9.7-inch IPS touchscreen while you daydream of that time that watched Entrapment with your soulmate, book your flight, find departure times and even check in at dedicated kiosks. Adapting its iPhone application MHMobile for iPad use, Malaysia Airlines has installed five terminals at Kuala Lumpur Sentral so far -- where the company presently serves just 900 customers a day. See the interface in action after the break, or just download the existing app at our more coverage link if you're in search of that elusive globetrotter feeling.
