Qantas taps iPads for in-flight entertainment

QANTAS

Australia’s largest airline, Qantas, Tuesday confirmed that it will be handing out iPads to its passengers who will be able to use the device as an in-flight entertainment solution providing easy access to more than two hundred hours of music, movies and television programming. The solution entails iPads connecting to the plane’s onboard Wi-Fi network to access the airline’s Q Streaming in-flight technology. iPads will be deployed on Qantas flights between Sydney and Honolulu on 767 aircraft, available for all classes…

According to Hindustan Times:

Entertainment programs are streamed directly to the iPads using the aircraft’s inflight entertainment technology, Q Streaming, which taps into the plane’s onboard WiFi. Over the next few months, new interactive games, travel and business-related apps, as well as digital newspapers and magazines will be added, says Qantas.

Qantas is no stranger to Apple technology.

In November 2012, the company announced Passbook (a new Apple stock app released as part of iOS 6 in September 2012) for boarding passes in Australia, allowing travelers to add tickets to Passbook and check in using their iPhone, with support for live updates, color codes that match the user’s frequent flyer status and other perks.

Delta, PC World’s most tech-friendly U.S. airline, along with American Airlines also supports Passbook. Delta offers its passengers access to on-board Wi-Fi, has an iOS app to scan and track your baggage and even supports charging stations and iPad installations.

On the other hand, American Airlines, which owns 33,000 tablets, has deployed some 23,000 Galaxy devices from Samsung. The airline hands out Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets on certain popular routes, including New York’s JFK airport and Los Angeles and international flights to Europe and South America on flights served with 767-300 aircraft.

Still, as evident from a recent study by in-flight Wi-Fi provider GoGo, 84 percent of in-flight Internet use in the United States comes from iOS devices.