Can the Apple IPad Revolutionize the Way Airlines Do Business? Hell Yeah! (Plus: How You Can Get a Promotion)
This wasnt just the Easter weekend, it was also the weekend when the iPad hit the stores. Before I could get over the initial frenzy, I saw an article on Mashable that talked about a university buying iPads for all its incoming freshmen! That bold idea got me thinking does the iPad have the potential of chancing the way airlines do business too?
In fact, there’s been ample debate already, with the queen of in-flight entertainment (IFE), Mary Kirby, concluding that it’s a fad, even as the CIO of JetStar, Stephen Tame was quoted as saying that the iPad “may lead in the future the end of airline in-flight entertainment systems”.
Why does the iPad matter for airlines?
It matters because no longer are mobile devices limited to small screens only centimeters wide, with the iPad. Combine that with the advent of in-flight wifi and we’re talking business.
I’m not talking about every passenger carrying on-board an iPad. That’s probably not possible. At least not very soon, and not across nations. What I’m suggesting is that it might be a good idea for airlines that do not have personal in-flight entertainment systems installed, to consider buying iPads to rent them out to the passengers.
iPad re-defining in-flight entertainment – both for legacy and budget airlines
Imagine sitting in the middle seat of a Boeing 747 for 11 hours from Los Angeles to London, with no personal IFE? Sounds archaic right? But a lot of leading airlines like KLM, Iberia, American and United still do not have personal IFE and I do not foresee them equipping their planes with one, until the new planes arrive. Which is still some years away. Offering the iPad option in these flights can be a competitive advantage for
