American Airlines
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A 5G deadline could ground some US flights starting July 1st
Planes without compatible altimeters won't be allowed to fly in low visibility.
American Airlines says hackers obtained some customer and employee data
The company said there's no evidence the information has been misused as yet.
Boom's supersonic jet is facing a lack of interest from engine suppliers
Boom may be in a bind with its supersonic Overture jet, as no jet engine manufacturers are interested in the project.
American Airlines is purchasing 20 of Boom's supersonic Overture jets
One of the world’s largest airlines has placed a big bet on supersonic jet startup Boom.
Boeing delivers its first 787 Dreamliner after pausing for over a year
Boeing has handed over its first 787 Dreamliner in over a year after dealing with multiple manufacturing flaws.
Data leak exposed 38 million records, including COVID-19 vaccination statuses
A Microsoft misconfiguration reportedly left data from more than 1,000 web apps in the open.
Hitting the Books: How biased AI can hurt users or boost a business's bottom line
In 'A Citizen's Guide to Artificial Intelligence,' John Zerilli presents readers with an approachable, holistic examination of both the history and current state of the art, the potential benefits of and challenges facing ever-improving AI technology, and how this rapidly advancing field could influence society for decades to come.
American Airlines will resume Boeing 737 Max passenger flights today
It's the first time a US domestic carrier will fly a 737 Max on a service flight since March 2019.
American Airlines conducts first public Boeing 737 Max test flight after ban
American Airlines is gearing up to become the first US airline to resume commercial passenger flights with the Boeing 737 Max after the plane’s 20-month ban was lifted. The company has completed a test flight with media onboard — a short 45-minute trip from Dallas, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma — as part of a public relations campaign before it resumes commercial flights on December 29th. Boeing’s 737 Max planes were grounded around the world in March 2019 following two fatal crashes within a span of five months.
Cellphone interference still poses a risk aboard some Boeing jets
Even switching your phone to airplane mode won't keep it from being a risk on some Boeing jets. A 2014 FAA study revealed that some cockpit screens on Boeing 737 and 777 jets are vulnerable to interference from WiFi, cell phone signals or even weather radar. Bloomberg reported today that while many have been replaced, some jets still contain the outdated models built by Honeywell International, Inc.
American Airlines offers satellite WiFi to its entire mainline fleet
If you're relying on American Airlines for a summer trip, there's a good chance you'll have internet access most of the way. The company has finished deploying satellite-based internet access to the fleet of 700-plus narrowbody aircraft that mainly handle its domestic routes. Depending on where you're going, you'll have either Gogo 2Ku or ViaSat Ka connections providing speedier, more consistent WiFi than the ground solutions of old. American deployed satellite broadband to its widebody aircraft roughly a year earlier.
Airlines are getting better at spotting and dodging bad weather
Turbulence hasn't gone away, but apparently we experience a lot less of it now than we did a decade ago. The New York Times is reporting that as airlines upgrade their weather systems from telex to tablets, pilots' ability to avoid choppy sky has vastly improved. As well as this, better satellite imaging and weather forecasting has enabled airlines to cut the amount of weather-based delays from 50 percent in 2003 to 36 percent in 2013. In addition, Delta and American Airlines have now outfitted some of their craft with sensors that automatically transmit data to dispatches, keeping subsequent flights out of trouble. The report goes on to say that we're also on the cusp of another big weather resolution, since high-power imaging satellites, due to commence operation in 2016, will massively increase an airline's ability to predict when airports will get shut down - and hopefully, save future generations from trying to catch some sleep on those nasty-ass chairs at Philadelphia airport.
Hackers' bomb threat allegedly reroutes SOE's president's plane
Hackers who implicated themselves in this weekend's PlayStation Network outage have apparently stepped up their attacks on Sony with a casual bomb threat made over Twitter that may have diverted a plane carrying SOE president John Smedley. In addition to tweeting several mocking threats about the flight as well as an image purporting to be Smed's e-ticket, the hacker account sent this message to American Airlines: .@AmericanAir We have been receiving reports that @j_smedley's plane #362 from DFW to SAN has explosives on-board, please look into this. Smed tweeted earlier today that his plane had been rerouted to Phoenix over "security reasons." Local news stations report that the FBI is investigating the threats. [Developing]
iPad now being used in every American Airlines cockpit
American Airlines has announced the deployment of more than 8,000 iPads to the cockpits of its fleet as part of a new electronic flight bag for pilots. The roll out has lead to American discontinuing paper revisions to its terminal charts, saving money, paper and mess in the future. To put a number on how much effect the switch will have, the electronic flight bag is replacing more than 35 pounds of paper-based reference materials that pilots carry in their carry-on kitbag. By removing that extra weight from their flights American will save a minimum of 400,000 gallons of fuel and $1.2 million dollars annually, based on current fuel prices. In addition, pilots will save more time thanks to the elimination of the hours it could take each month to update their paper manuals. Updating the iPad software takes minutes. "Our focus on technological improvement throughout our operation has never been stronger as we continue to build the new American," said Patrick O'Keeffe, American's Vice President – Airline Operations Technology. "As the first major commercial airline to successfully complete the Electronic Flight Bag transition across its fleet, we are proud to count this among our other successful programs that provide the tools our people need to perform their duties safely and efficiently." Here's a video look at the system that will be in place from now on in American Airlines flights. Correction: This story originally reported the company would save $12 million annually due to the change over. We were missing a period, and the actual amount is $1.2 million annually.
US Air Force is saving huge money with iPads
The US Air Force has opened up about how the iPad will help it realize over US$50 million in savings over the next 10 years, as 18,000 iPads replace flight manuals. In an interview with The Street, US Air Force Major Brian Moritz described the huge drop in costs. "We're saving about 90 pounds of paper per aircraft and limiting the need for each crew member to carry a 30- to 40-pound paper pile [of flight manuals]. It adds up to quite a lot of weight in paper." The Street notes that specific weight savings varies across aircraft. For instance, the iPads eliminate 250 pounds from a four-person C-17, and up to 490 pounds in a C-5 with a crew of 10. In a related story from the civilian world, American Airlines recently described how its adoption of iPads has reduced the number of pilots reporting back injuries. American's VP of Airline Operations, Patrick O'Keeffe recently noted at the Tablet Strategy Conference in New York City, "We've reduced the single biggest source of pilot injuries, carrying those packs. And we are now able to save $1 million in fuel costs and stop printing all the page revisions."
Daily Update for May 1, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
American Airlines: iPads prevent pilot back injuries
Many airlines have embraced the iPad as a way to replace the 40-pound flight bags containing charts and manuals, but until now there's been little talk about how those tablet deployments are going. At the Tablet Strategy conference in New York yesterday, American Airlines VP of Airline Operations Technology Patrick O'Keefe discussed how the airline is aggressively moving ahead with adoption of tablets and the benefits that are already becoming apparent. All of American's 8,600 pilots will have iPads by the end of May, each device containing over 3,000 pages of material that used to be printed out and manually updated. Now the charts and manuals are digitally updated, saving flight crews a lot of busy work. But the biggest win for American is in terms of crew safety, as O'Keefe noted that "We've reduced the single biggest source of pilot injuries, carrying those packs." In addition, "we are now able to save $1 million in fuel costs and stop printing all the page revisions." American has worked closely with Apple to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration to allow more use in flight. As a result, "American is the only carrier in the world with permission to use iPads at all phases of flight, including letting our pilots use them below 10,000 feet," said O'Keefe. That's not to say that American Airlines is an iPad-only company; all 16,000 flight attendants have Samsung Galaxy Note "phablets" that are used for managing food service and seating, or providing gate information for connecting flights.
Gadling goes hands-on with the iPad flight bag
Flight bags are going digital, and American Airlines is on the forefront of this move away from a paper-laden cockpit. American has approval to use the iPad in its 777, 737 and MD-80 airplanes and is starting to install the iPads in the cockpits of its MD-80 fleet. A recent segment in Gadling's Cockpit Chronicles series by Kent Wien takes a closer look at this iOS-driven setup. Working with pilot manual company Jeppesen, American Airlines is loading up the devices with company manuals, Jeppesen flight manuals, Jeppesen approach plates and more. It is also equipping the iPads with Hypermac backup batteries for long flights and a RAM mount to secure the device in the cockpit. You can check out the cockpit setup in the video below and then hop over to the Cockpit Chronicles article for additional details on the system and its long approval process, which includes, among other things, hypobaric chamber testing. [Gadling is a sibling site of TUAW, as we are both part of AOL's network. –Ed.]
American Airlines brings Gogo's Ku-band, ATG-4 internet to latest A320 and 737 aircraft
If you wind up cruising in one of American Airlines latest airliners, you'll likely be pleased with the WiFi that's also onboard. Gogo recently announced that its Ku-band satellite and peppy ATG-4 internet connectivity will be available on AA's latest Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 deliveries. The mixture ensures you'll be able to get online whether you're over the seas or the connected ground below. You'll find more info in the press release after the break, and expect it all to be available before the earlier part of this year flies by.
American Airlines to hand out Galaxy Note 'tablets' to 17,000 flight attendants (video)
Things aren't all Champagne and caviar over at American Airlines, not that you'd know it from the company's latest press release. The Dallas-based air carrier just shared a plan to outfit all of its flight attendants with Samsung Galaxy Notes beginning later this year. The rollout will continue through the middle of 2013, at which point each of the airline's 17,000 cabin crew members will have their very own "tablet," which they'll use to manage flight manifests, track premium passenger meal preferences and monitor weather and gate information in real-time, on WiFi-equipped flights. Eventually, the handsets will also include the flight attendant manual, along with additional features, such as processing for in-flight meal and drink purchases (pending FAA approval). Though the Galaxy Note II will likely be available by the time the program begins, the press release references a 5.3-inch display, which would imply the previous-gen handset. Sadly, this Note of excitement comes alongside news that some 11,000 American mechanics and ground workers could get a pink slip come November -- as frequent air travelers ourselves, we're genuinely sorry to hear that, and we don't want any gadget to overshadow the airline's ongoing troubles and the unfortunate fate of hardworking employees. You can catch that angle at the coverage link below, then read all about the Note program just after the break.
