American Airlines switching to iPhones, iPads for all frontline employees

Posted:
in General Discussion
American Airlines is planning to replace all of its current mobile devices for frontline employees, including flight attendants and maintenance staff, with new iPhone and iPad models.

Credit: American Airlines
Credit: American Airlines


The airline's chief information officer, Maya Leibman, made the announcement in an internal note on June 16. American Airlines has already been testing frontline use of iPhone and iPad devices at Washington Airport, according to View From the Wing.

"No doubt the year has brought a lot of change, but one constant that remains is our dedication to both our customer and our team member experience. Given this commitment, we have decided to consolidate our frontline mobile devices onto Apple iPhones and iPads," Leibman wrote.

The CIO said that the move to iOS would help improve the experience for both customers and team members, and will allow American's IT department to create new apps for a single operating system. Leibman also said that many of American Airlines' current mobile devices have reached the end of their service life.

The move to Apple devices is wide-ranging. For example, airport agents will begin using iPhone 12 models to offer service to customers at terminals. In the first quarter of 2022, flight attendants will also begin using the iPhone 12 as an electronic flight bat and customer service tool. Line maintenance staff will also begin using 7th-generation iPad models by the end of June.

In a statement to View from the Wing, American Airlines confirmed that the iPhone 12 devices will support 5G connectivity.

American Airlines pilots will continue to use iPads are electronic flight bans. The airline said it recently added new weather and turbulence awareness apps to the iPad flight bag, and said it would continue to enhance the devices over time.

Apple devices have been used in the airline industry for years. American Airlines began using iPad devices as electronic flight bags for pilots in 2013, for example.

In 2018, Delta Airlines switched its employees from Surface tablets to iOS-based iPads. Back in April, it also announced that it would give every one of its 19,000 flight attendants an iPhone 12 with 5G for customer service.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    Anilu_777Anilu_777 Posts: 521member
    Damn!! Good move AA. Having everything the same OS will make airline and flight-specific apps easier to build and deploy. 
    Beatswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 10
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    But, but, but... the other platform is cheaper, better, more ‘customizable’ and cheaper. Oh, I said cheaper twice. Sorry. Why would any corporation NOT go with the world’s most popular mobile operating system by far? I mean, EVERYBODY uses the other platform. What was AA thinking? /s/s/s
    BeatsFileMakerFellerwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 10
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    It’s insane how versatile these inventions are.

    Also, I’m sure American Airlines is happy about the government wanting to open Apple devices to malware!! /s
    StrangeDaysFileMakerFellerwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 4 of 10
    stewartsstewarts Posts: 15member
    3 typos (bats, are, bans) in such a short article?

    I often feel AI is trying to make us play guessing games to figure out what they mean / were supposed to have written. So frustrating!
    applguyDogpersonmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 5 of 10
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member

    American Airlines pilots will continue to use iPads are electronic flight bans. 
     :# 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    Frontline? Are they being deployed to a battlefield?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    looplessloopless Posts: 325member
    Frontline? Are they being deployed to a battlefield?
    Well, based on recent reports, flight attendants are often battling obnoxious passengers!
    FileMakerFellerMacProwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Frontline? Are they being deployed to a battlefield?
    With the behavior of passengers these days I would say yes, deployed to a battlefield. Seems very day we see news reports of some drunk or anti-mask knuckle dragger getting physically removed from a flight, kicking and screaming thew whole time. So much so that the airlines are demanding the FAA issue major fines and jail time to these dolts as well as being banned from flying. Apparently most of the time they get slapped on the wrist and let go.
    StrangeDaysFileMakerFellerMacProwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 10
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,120member
    stewarts said:
    3 typos (bats, are, bans) in such a short article?

    I often feel AI is trying to make us play guessing games to figure out what they mean / were supposed to have written. So frustrating!
    Electronic flight bats might be handy for those unruly customers!
    CloudTalkinFileMakerFellerMacProwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 10
    lkrupp said:
    But, but, but... the other platform is cheaper, better, more ‘customizable’ and cheaper. Oh, I said cheaper twice. Sorry. Why would any corporation NOT go with the world’s most popular mobile operating system by far? I mean, EVERYBODY uses the other platform. What was AA thinking? /s/s/s
    Jeebus.  These types of comments reek of childish fanboy behavior.  Trying to couch what amounts to trolling under sarcasm really doesn't work either.  You're not even trying to add to the conversation.  You are better than that.  AA swithching to Apple devices is no surprise since MS doesn't have a phone component on offer to accompany the Surface tablets that were the other option to iPads.  Airlines typically chose iPads or Surface devices for their EFB - Electronic Flight Bag.  "Bag" was the word AI misspelled. Logically, more and more are deciding to use Apple because Apple has an offering that addresses pilot needs as well as other staff.  

    Android was never really an option because there's no uniformity of product there beyond Samsung.  
    edited June 2021 h4y3smuthuk_vanalingamMacPro
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