Alaska Airlines Goes Green Embraces iPad Flight Manuals and Distracted Pilots

[Phillip Swanson]

In an effort to save money, and weight, Alaska Airlines is issuing iPads to their pilots instead of the 25 pounds of paper flight manuals they are required to carry when they fly.

So does that 25 pounds of paper count as carry-on or what?

AA will be the first major domestic airline to make the switch to completely electronic manuals. Now don't think this is some custom made app that AA had developed to run on iPads. The iPad use GoodReader to view PDF versions of 41 flight, system, and performance manuals. The PDFs even contain links, and color graphics allowing pilots to spend less time searching for information.

Seriously, how fast can someone flip through 25 pounds of manuals if they need to find a critical piece of information during an emergency, even if they know where the info kind of is. Then again, it'd suck to forget to charge the iPad in question.

The price of the project is expected to be offset by lower paper, printing, and distribution expenses as well as reduced fuel consumption as some weight is removed from the plane.

Source: Alaska Airlines

[eenofonn]

lol Go Alaska Air... finally I know why you charge so much to get me off the rock I'm stuck on

[thetoothfairy]

Nice that they are doing this and glad they choose the iPad... if there was a emergency I can't see someone setting on their iPad looking for a critical piece of information... I would think they would be freaking... however it would depend on the emergency. Good for them!

[ronfin44]

Great. Just what I want my Pilot to have. Instead of checking to make sure the flaps are set they'll be playing Angry Birds. lol

[thetoothfairy]

^ lmao!

[Painkiller006]

No, they'll be playing Flight Control :-P (so if I draw this line, the plane will land safely...)

[lightmaster]

The price of the project is expected to be offset by lower paper, printing, and distribution expenses as well as reduced fuel consumption as some weight is removed from the plane.

Exactly how much fuel would the plane save by removing just 25 pounds? I know 25 pounds of manuals is a lot of paper, but removing 25 pounds from a 800,000 - 900,000 pound plane can't really save much fuel. That's less than 0.003% of the planes weight.

[demize95]

Exactly how much fuel would the plane save by removing just 25 pounds? I know 25 pounds of manuals is a lot of paper, but removing 25 pounds from a 800,000 - 900,000 pound plane can't really save much fuel. That's less than 0.003% of the planes weight.

I do believe he was making a joke.

[alphonso]

my iPad recently saved my @$s on a checkride....Airbus 330.... =)