iPads flying high with Qantas pilots
Qantas pilots are to be issued with iPads after the airline struck a deal with Telstra. Apple’s popular tablet will eventually be handed out to more than 2200 pilots, with those flying its 737 fleet to get the first batch in September.
The gadgets will be used on the flight deck to access charts, flight plans, manuals and other operational information. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
It is also expected to massively reduce the airline’s use of paper. Qantas currently prints 18,000 pages of flight operations every day but expects this will be reduced to 3000 pages once all of the iPads have been issued.
Each of the devices will have two apps installed that have been custom-built for the cockpit – one for charts designed by Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen, the other developed internally by Qantas for all other information its pilots need to have at hand.
Alex Passerini, a Qantas technical pilot, said replacing cumbersome hard copies would save time, reduce costs and improve the airline’s use of resources.
“This initiative is a response to strong demand from our pilots for a simpler, more efficient system, and follows extensive testing and development work, including close consultation with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority,” Captain Passerini said in a statement.
Telstra’s group managing director for enterprise and government, Paul Geason, said the iPad program was a perfect example of how technology could improve productivity and efficiency.
It is expected to take about three or four weeks to get iPads into the hands of pilots on each Qantas fleet. Pilots will still carry some paperwork to the flight deck as they get to know the new systems.
Qantas has previously used Apple equipment as part of attempts to differentiate itself from rival airline Virgin Australia. It installed Mac computers in members’ lounges across the country in late 2010