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Australian airline Qantas will run a pilot program to test response to the inclusion of iPad 2 units on one of its Boeing 767-300 jets. Qantas has installed a personal iPad 2 for each of the 254 seats on the plane, according to a report from Australian Business Traveler.
The iPad will be able to stream media content over Wi-Fi from a server located on the plane itself.
Qantas has a customized iPad app that will drive the on-demand user experience. Toward the end of the trial run, Qantas plans to allow customers with their own iPads to download the free app to access streaming content as well.
With airlines constantly competing to get more customers, this could be a step in the right direction.
Alison Webster, executive manager for customer experience at Qantas claims that the iPads will be “locked down,” booting directly to the Qantas app, foregoing Apple’s traditional home screen. Currently, iOS does not have this capability, so one might wonder if the iPad software, at least for the trial run, is the result of jailbreaking the devices.
It will be interesting to keep tabs on how this program goes for Qantas and whether it will inspire similar trials on flights from major U.S. carriers. Would you want to have an iPad at your disposal on your flights? Let me know in the comments!
