Scoot: iPad to replace In-flight entertainment
Weighing in at 1.5 pounds and only 0.5 inches thick, the iPad is lightweight and sleek, making it comfortable to hold and carry around. The extended battery life of up to 10 hours works even for extended airplane trips and the high resolution LED backlit screen on the iPad makes it an ideal tool for watching movies and playing games. With so many benefits to offer, it is of no doubt the iPad is beginning to replace many gadgets in the relevant fields.
Unfortunately, the price of the iPad has not yet reached the point where you see every passenger onboard an aircraft carrying one to entertain them in-flight. Enter Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA). Having just made their maiden flight on 7th June 2012, the low cost carrier is also a new entrant into using iPads for in-flight entertainment, providing all passengers with an iPad at their seats.
Ingenious? Absolutely. Not only would the iPad provide passengers with a fun-filled flight, it also saves the low cost carrier a significant amount of money. With the ultra light weight iPads, the aircraft eliminates the need to have heavy in-flight entertainment equipment which could weight up to 2 tonnes, saving fuel costs especially in this period of rising oil prices, and allowing the aircraft to retrofit the space with 40% more seats.
These iPads will be rented out to the passengers in economy-class at $22 per trip, and provided at no cost to the passengers in business-class. The iPads are currently deployed on four of the airline’s Boeing 777s. In the near future, Scoot also explores to establish a wireless system on its planes that will provide additional content for its passengers.
Learn more about how airlines are using new innovations to improve customer experience at the 5th edition of Aviation Outlook Asia 2012, the leading conference & exhibition for the booming Asian Aviation sector.
