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JetBlue Pilots to Receive M1 iPad Pro

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The airline JetBlue has today announced that it will be equipping its pilots with the M1 iPad Pro.

ipad-pro-m1-feature.jpg

JetBlue was one of the first airlines in the United States to adopt digital documentation in the cockpit. The airline first received Federal Aviation Administration approval to give iPads to all pilots in 2013, which enabled pilots to use the iPad for operational tracking apps, hosting system maintenance checks, checking real-time weather patterns to avoid turbulence, accessing procedures and manuals, and more. In 2015, JetBlue became the first airline to accept Apple Pay in-flight.

Now, JetBlue will begin rolling out Apple's latest iPad Pro featuring the M1 chip to all new pilots and will replace older models that are currently in use over time.
iPad Pro is the right fit for the cockpit, with its thin, light design and large, bright Liquid Retina display. The new iPad Pro features the industry-leading M1 chip, which offers next-level performance when pilots are running more than a dozen apps throughout the duration of the flight. iPad Pro's fast 5G capabilities delivers better performance and access to next-generation download and upload speeds.
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The iPad Pro will provide "safety-critical functions" to crewmembers and will future-proof the company with powerful hardware for years to come.

Article Link: JetBlue Pilots to Receive M1 iPad Pro
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/07/13/jetblue-pilots-to-receive-m1-ipad-pro/
bebarhood said:
Those iPads will end up costing their airline as much as buying an airplane.
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An Airbus 320 (JetBlue seems to have a number of these) is in the $100 million range and for simplicity let's say the iPad Pros are going to cost $1000. So an Airbus 320 is worth 100 000 iPad Pros, give or take. JetBlue has somewhere between 20-25k employees but less than 4000 are pilots. This program is unlikely to cost JetBlue as much as buying an airplane.
 
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bebarhood said:
Those iPads will end up costing their airline as much as buying an airplane.
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The alternative were vast sums of paper that had to be printed for every flight with manuals, routes, weather, etc. the iPad pays itself by printer, paper, ink and man-hour savings in a handful of flights. Having all this info at hand is required, either printed or on an electronic device, so the iPad is not an added cost but a more efficient replacement of something else that wasn't free either in the first place.
 
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apparatchik said:
The alternative were vast sums of paper that had to be printed for every flight with manuals, routes, weather, etc. the iPad pays itself by printer, paper, ink and man-hour savings in a handful of flights. Having all this info at hand is required, either printed or on an electronic device, so the iPad is not an added cost but a more efficient replacement of something else that wasn't free either in the first place.
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Agreed- I’m not sure how much weight is saved, but every little bit counts to an airline. iPads are probably lighter than big ol binders of paper.
 
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I've used an iPad for flying and it's pretty great. We are able to see weather, air traffic, plan our route, upload flight logs easily. It's one of the places where an iPad works really well. Although I would've thought most of that functionality would be integrated into the glass cockpit of a new airliner.
 
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hagar said:
If you think about this, it’s pretty weird companies announce this. Imagine they communicate which kind of vacuum cleaners they bought.

They just want to ride the Apple-is-cool-so-we-are-too train.

but good for them and their pilots :)
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Not really. Younger fliers are looking for companies that are tech savvy. Look at the noise that United Next announcement made last week. Their "upgraded" cabins include features Delta, JetBlue and Alaska have had for almost a decade now, but they hung their proverbial hat on the fact their new inflight entertainment screens finally come with bluetooth connectivity so fliers can use their expensive noise cancelling headphones instead of cheap wired buds provided by the crew. Seatback screens have become less and less relevant as tablets and larger phones become more and more common, with latest studies showing maybe 20% of passengers on any given flight interact with the things for more than a few seconds before forgetting about them and flipping out their phones or tablets to play games or watch movies on, but the message was clear: United is pushing the cutting edge of tech. This announcement, though it really means nothing to the average flight, sends the same message and makes both companies look good.
 
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