Alaska Airlines announced last week that it plans to expand Wi-Fi services to more than 90% of its fleet of 117 Boeing 737s by the end of the month. In November, the carrier had wireless Internet on about 70% of its fleet.
Last week’s announcement came only days after the Seattle airline announced that it was issuing new iPad tablet computers to its pilots to replace the 25-pound flight manuals that they take with them into the cockpit.
Alaska will be handing out the 1.5-pound iPads to all its pilots by mid-June. The devices will include a reading application that will let the pilots scroll through hundreds of pages of manuals, reference cards and other material.
But pilots will not get a break from the Federal Aviation Administration rules that forbid the use of electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. Besides, Internet access on jetliners is available only in the cabin, not in the cockpit.
And the iPads won’t have computer games, joked Alaska spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey. “The pilots will not be playing Angry Birds during takeoff.”
