airline
Latest
easyJet's iOS app is now your personal guide to Gatwick
easyJet already has a mobile app that many airline peers would do well to take inspiration from. Beyond storing electronic boarding passes, the app lets you manage bookings, track flights and even check in using a photo of your passport. The low-cost, tech-savvy airline has made its app that much better today, though, with new features that'll guide you through every step of a journey from London's Gatwick airport. Prior to departure, the app will prompt you to check in and remind you of your baggage allowance, but the so-called "Mobile Host" really kicks in when you get to Gatwick. Once it sees you've arrived, a push notification will tell you where to dump your bag, and direct you there using indoor maps courtesy of Google. If you're just taking carry-on, then it'll point you towards the departures area instead, and once through security, you needn't keep your eyes glued to information screens, since it'll let you know when your gate opens and how to get there.
United Airlines attendants will get the iPhone 6 Plus to help you mid-flight
Now that Apple finally has a large smartphone, it's venturing into places that were previously off-limits. Case in point: United has announced that all of its 23,000 "mainline" flight attendants will get the iPhone 6 Plus in the second quarter of 2015. Staff will initially use the supersized handset to check email and manuals (typically on the ground) as well as handle your mid-flight headphone and snack purchases. The airline isn't stopping there, however. Future upgrades will let crews report cabin problems, and there are promises of more "customer-focused tools" to help you out. United isn't the first American carrier to use giant phones in the air, but its iPhone plans could still do a lot to make your next flight go smoothly.
Easyjet now lets you check in using a photo of your passport
Despite being known for low-cost flights, Easyjet often leads the pack when it comes to taking the hassle out of travel. While you can already book a flight using its apps, the airline today announced a new upgrade that will let you check-in by simply taking a photo of your passport. Where before you'd need to manually enter your passport number into the Easyjet website, the new iOS and Android apps (with backing from validation specialist Jumio) now let you automate the process up to 2 hours before you take off from one of 110 Easyjet airports. That means you can now book, check-in and board your flight all via your phone -- helpful if you're itching to get some sun now that autumn is well and truly here.
The death of the original jumbo jet, Boeing's 747-400
Later this month, Cathay Pacific's 747 will fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong for the very last time. It's a story we're hearing from nearly every airline still flying the most recognizable passenger jet in aviation history -- rising fuel costs are prompting carriers to ground their fleets, opting to shuttle passengers in more modern (and efficient) airliners instead. Hundreds of 747s still take to the skies every day, but their numbers are dwindling, with Boeing's 777-300ER and 787 Dreamliner, as well as the enormous Airbus A380, picking up the slack. The flagships of yesteryear now litter the desert, with several sites in California serving as a permanent resting place for the plane that was once known as the Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747-400.
Why your brand-new plane doesn't have a seat-back TV
Earlier this year, I boarded a United flight from Newark to San Diego. After passing the first few rows, a young boy turned to his mother and asked, "Why aren't there any TVs?" "It's probably an older plane," she responded -- but that couldn't be further from the truth. The aircraft, a 737-900 with Boeing's Sky Interior (a Dreamliner-esque recessed ceiling lit with blue LEDs), had only been flying for a few weeks. It looked new, and it even had that "new plane smell" most passengers would only associate with a factory-fresh auto. But despite the plane's clean and bright appearance, the family only noticed the glaring absence of seat-back screens. To them, our 737 might as well have rolled off the assembly line in 1984.
Airbus' latest jet will bring 3D movies to the skies
While Airbus is busy testing its answer to Boeing's Dreamliner ahead of its first passenger flights later this year, the aviation giant has also found time to give its A330 wide-body jet a makeover. Promising more seats and improved aerodynamics, which will reduce fuel consumption by 14 percent per seat, the plane-maker is also promising to drag the A330neo's in-flight entertainment into the 21st century. As well as WiFi, mobile connectivity and HD video, Airbus' new plane will also offer passengers the chance to watch films in 3D. Chances are you'll need glasses to enjoy the latest 3D movies when the A330neo takes to the skies in late 2017 -- hopefully Airbus will also account for those of us who are always placed behind someone who just loves to recline.
This is what a day's worth of transatlantic air travel looks like (video)
The seas between Europe and North America are relatively quiet on any given day, but 30,000 feet above some 2,500 planes follow tracks (like invisible highways) between both continents, landing in gateway cities like London and New York or flying far beyond. Of course, not all of those aircraft are carrying commercial passengers -- cargo, military and private flights make up a great deal of that traffic -- but regardless of their purpose and destination, that kind of volume is a spectacular sight to behold. NATS, the UK's National Air Traffic Services, created a video render to help visualize the 1,400-odd flights it handles each day. The agency helps provide aircraft separation via pilot reports rather than radar, which is only accessible to flights near land. With limited technology at their disposal, it's a lot of work for controllers, as you can clearly see in the video after the break.
Canadian airlines will let you use devices during takeoff and landing
American airlines may let you use your mobile devices at every stage of flight, but their Canadian counterparts still insist that you power down until you're in mid-air. That's going to change shortly, though: Transport Canada has greenlit the use of electronics during takeoff and landing. As long as carriers can show that passenger gadgets in airplane mode (that is, with wireless off) won't interfere with avionics, you'll get to use your gear at any time. Of course, you'll get to switch on WiFi for most of a given trip if you're on an aircraft with internet access.
Weekends with Engadget: Nokia joins Microsoft, lost Andy Warhol artwork and more!
Welcome to Weekends with Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines from the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. For even more action, subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Daily Roundup: Nokia joins Microsoft, a traveler's guide to in-flight WiFi, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung and Iberia team up to put boarding passes on smartwatches
You wouldn't instantly associate Iberia with cutting-edge technology, but the Spanish airline is a paragon of modernity. The Madrid-based business already lets you print your own luggage tags, and now it's teamed up with Samsung to bring boarding passes to your smartwatch. A forthcoming update to the Iberia Android app will enable you to cross the skybridge with just a Gear 2 -- assuming, of course, that you've already got a Galaxy S5 (or another compatible device) stashed in your pocket.
Air Canada to offer WiFi across many of its North American flights
If you've flown to or from Canada in recent years using one of its airlines, you've probably noticed the lack of in-flight WiFi; apart from a couple of aircraft, you're incommunicado until you reach the ground. You won't be stuck reading books and taking naps for much longer, though. Air Canada has announced that it's rolling out Gogo-based WiFi on many of its continental North American flights, keeping you connected even if the US is on the itinerary. The company will outfit 29 aircraft with internet access between May and the end of 2014, and 130 narrow-body models should get online by December 2015. The initial service will stick with Gogo's regular (that is, fairly slow) cellular-based technology, but Air Canada will be testing advanced satellite broadband from both Gogo and Inmarsat next year.
Virgin Atlantic tries greeting its passengers using wearable tech
Forget tablets in the airplane cabin -- Virgin Atlantic thinks wearables are where it's at for improving your travel experience. The airline has begun trialing a greeting system that uses Google Glass and Sony's Smartwatch 2 to streamline the airport check-in process for Upper Class passengers. Staff at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 are using the technology to greet travelers by name, provide flight updates and translate any foreign language information. The test run will only last six weeks, but Virgin already has dreams of future software that lets staff know what food you like. Let's just hope that any potential wide-scale rollout accommodates those of us in the cheap seats.
British Airways' digital billboard identifies planes as they pass overhead (video)
We're no stranger to digital billboards -- Engadget made its own big-screen debut in Times Square back in 2011 -- but British Airways' latest endeavor is unlike any we've seen before. According to The Drum, the new advertisement, installed front and center at London's Piccadilly Circus, uses "custom-built surveillance technology" to track incoming BA aircraft, prompting the screen to display a child pointing directly at the plane as it passes overhead. The adjacent text offers up the flight number and its origin or destination, along with a custom message, such as the lowest fare for that route or the current weather where that plane is headed. The airline's new #lookup campaign is marketing at its best -- see for yourself in the video after the break.
American Airlines finishes rolling out iPad flight bags
Some airlines and aircraft makers have made a big deal of moving to tablet-based flight bags, but few can say they've made a complete switch. American Airlines can -- it just finished deploying iPad-based kits to all its cockpits, which can use the tablets at every stage of flight. The move lets the carrier ditch paper charts and manuals across the board, with an according round of savings in fuel and weight. Regional partners haven't made the leap to digital, although that may come soon: American Eagle Airlines will have the choice of using iPad flight bags starting on July 10th. While most of us in the passenger seats will never notice the difference, the shift will likely help American's bottom line.
Airbus A350 completes maiden flight, uber-efficient Trent XWB engine shines
With the Paris Air Show scheduled to lift off in earnest on Monday, Airbus is hoping to steal a bit of the limelight. After being conceived in 2004, the A350 finally took the public skies today in France, showcasing a highly-efficient Rolls-Royce XWB engine all the while. The jet is arguably being launched to compete with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and as you'd expect, it's the magic inside of the shell that's most impressive. The Trent XWB engine was built specifically for the A350, replete with titanium blades and a mixture of technologies that have led to it being deemed the "world's most efficient" airplane engine... as said by Rolls-Royce, anyway. To date, over 600 orders for the A350 have been placed, but the outfit is hoping to land even more contracts in the days ahead. Ideally, each will ship with a power port in every seat, satellite internet connections and an allergy for mechanical failures. (A boy can dream, right?)
Airbus A320 family to use Dell Latitude laptops for electronic flight bags
Airbus isn't putting all its eggs in one basket -- or rather, one bag. While it already has a suite of iPad cockpit apps to assist pilots, the aircraft maker is hedging its bet with a deal to use Dell Latitude laptops as electronic flight bags on the A320 family. Crews will get the Latitude E6330 installed as a Class-2 device that can link up with the A320's avionics; as you'd expect, the PCs will also ship with software for maps, manuals and weather. We've reached out to learn just which carriers are going this route, although possible expansion to other Airbus vehicles could make Dell a common sight at 36,000 feet.
Qantas lands Passbook-enabled iPhone app
Australia's Qantas airline has released a brand-new iPhone app (free) with many great features, including Passbook support. The Qantas Airways app lets customers find and book Qantas flights, book hotels worldwide, view flight bookings, access up-to-the-minute flight status and create personalized alerts for specific flights and prices. With Passbook support, fliers can check-in for most domestic flights and add their boarding pass to Passbook, meaning there's no need to carry a paper ticket when traveling. Furthermore, Qantas frequent flyers can use the app to view their points balance and what their next flight is. Handy! The Qantas Airways app is available now from the iOS App Store. [Via AppAdvice]
Popular European discount airline easyJet adds Passbook support
Outside the United States, Passbook-supported apps are a rarity. That's why it's especially exciting that uber-popular European discount airline easyJet has just added Passbook support to their iPhone app. The move comes days after easyJet announced that it is eliminating check-in desks at airports. Now all easyJet passengers will be required to print or download their boarding passes before they leave home. But that shouldn't be much of a hassle for iPhone owners. With version 2.0 of the free easyJet mobile app, fliers can download and store boarding passes in their Passbook. Currently easyJet is trialing mobile check-in and boarding passes at six airports: Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nice, Southend and Stansted. But the company says that if the trial is successful, it will work with other airport partners to roll out the digital boarding passes to other airports.
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.
