“Scoot Pte is offering Apple Inc. iPads to budget long-haul travelers after ripping out aircraft entertainment systems weighing more than two tons to save fuel,” Jonathan Burgos reports for Bloomberg.
“The tablets helped the carrier cut 7 percent off the weight of planes obtained from parent Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA) even after a 40 percent increase in seating, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said,” Burgos reports. “The savings will help Scoot, which makes its maiden flight today, cope with fuel prices that have jumped about 36 percent in two years. Fuel is ‘the number one worry’ for any airline, as it usually accounts for at least 40 percent of costs, Wilson said in a June 1 interview in Singapore. Scoot will charge economy passengers S$22 ($17) a trip to rent the tablets, which are loaded with movies, music, games and television shows.”
Burgos reports, “JetStar, Qantas Airways Ltd.’s budget arm, also offers preloaded iPads on domestic and international flights lasting longer than 90 minutes. Qantas’s main unit began trialing a wireless iPad system in December.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Arline M.” and “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
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and the beat goes on…. (where’s Android?)
Boeing decided that iPads and iOS weren’t quite up to their standards and chose an entertainment system based on Android which they claimed was far superior in customizing for their use. They also claimed to have saved millions of dollars in not having to deal with overpriced Apple products. Boeing seems to be the only airline company that has gone with Android. Of course, a manufacturing company is not a carrier.
Where’s Greenpeace and those idiots now? iPads save fuel, iPads cut down on CO2 emissions.
Greenpeace is irate that fossil fuels are burned. Burning fuel is the sin, not the rate of consumption. Using iPads means that humans are still raping the planet, only less frequently.
During the stone age, Greenpeace decried the widespread use of stone tools and the despoliation of quarries used to produce them.
Now that’s funny.
You have to understand the problem with this system. After next month, these iPads will no longer have access to MobileMe services.
@the joker; so? Who’s using it anyway? They are using pre-loaded movies and games, nobody’s using mobile data on a plane, so what’s your point, caller?
Sarchasm, illustrated.
Shutting down MobileMe has nothing to do with using iPads for inflight entertainment systems.
Imagine if every airline in the world shed 4,000 lbs (1,800 kilos) per movie showing aircraft. The fuel savings would put a serious dent in fossil fuel consumption.
Greenpeace will not be satisfied until no fossil fuels are burned, ever.
Greenpeace opportunism negates their credibility and sincerity.
4000 lbs!
That’s about 25 more passengers per plane in Europe or 15 more passengers per plane in America.
Quality.
@ althegeo: That’ was truly a low blow! Factual but still low! 🙂
It would be interesting to see how many fliers who rent an iPad, maybe trying one out for the first time, will later buy one.
Good point! And these fliers are probably affluent. If they travel with their children, they will no doubt see how easily the children take to an iPad too and will probably consider buying one for their children.
Without a doubt! iPad quiets squirming children ilke nothing else.
Airplanes as the new Apple showroom – I love it! The airline could rent it for $17 with an option to purchase at the end of the flight! They could also sell iPones and iMacs duty free.
I wanna iPone. I wanna iPone right now!
I wonder if Greenpeace uses #6 bunker oil or bio-diesel in the Rainbow Warrior. Or maybe they use whale oil.
Greenpeace exempts itself from the same restrictions that it wants to impose on others. It’s called the right of moral purity and self aggrandizement also known by the more familiar phrase “blatant and misguided hypocrisy”.
Want to save more fuel? Make really fat people flying domestic to either pay for two seats and then give them the option to go by train (for much cheaper). I am tired of paying for one seat but only using half of it because the guy beside me is using 1.5 of his!
Maybe they need an airline that accommodates all the fat people.