Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is giving pilots Apple iPads to replace paper flight manuals, it announced Friday.
Pilots typically carry a ‘flight bag’ with up to 25 pounds of paper manuals.
‘We’ve been exploring the idea of an electronic flight bag for several years, but never found a device we really liked,’ Gary Beck, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of flight operations, said in a news release. ‘When the iPad hit the market, we took one look at it and said this is the perfect fit.’
The iPads use an app called GoodReader, which has PDF versions of 41 flight, systems and performance manuals, reference cards and other materials, complete with links and color graphics. This lets pilots find information faster and more easily, Alaska said, adding that the materials also can be updated with a tap on the screen.
The airline evaluated iPads this past winter and spring with 100 line and instructor pilots and representatives from the Air Line Pilots Association union. It plans to give them to all pilots by mid-June.
Alaska also is looking to replacing paper aeronautical navigation charts with electronic versions on the iPad. These two initiatives, dubbed “Bye, Bye, Flight Bag,” should save about 2.4 million pieces of paper, the airline said.
The airline expects lower paper, printing and distribution expenses and reduced fuel consumption thanks to weight removed from the aircraft to offset the cost. It also expects fewer back and muscle injuries from pilots carrying flight bags that weight 50 pounds, saving more money.
Of course, Federal Aviation Administration regulations still require the iPad to be stowed during takeoff and landing.
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