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 The move, which does not yet affect attendants at American Airlines
Group Inc's <AAL.O> subsidiary US Airways, comes little more than a
year after American's cockpit went paperless, and is one of many
strategies that airlines have pursued to reduce weight and fuel
costs.
Delta Air Lines <DAL.N> and United Airlines <UAL.N> have also
distributed smart devices to their pilots, and Delta plans to roll
out an e-manual for flight attendants starting in October.
American said its attendants already have the tablets, and those at
US Airways will receive them after the combined company receives a
single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation
Administration. The timing of that is uncertain.
"Conserving fuel is important to an airline because it is a huge
cost," said American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Huguely.
American stock rose 1.63 percent Wednesday to close at $38.58.
American and Delta see smart devices as a boon to cabin service,
allowing attendants to see where premium customers are seated and
direct more attention to them, the spokespeople said. Tablets also
will simplify in-flight food and beverage sales.
Delta is "arming our flight attendants to help deliver more
personalized customer assistance," said Kate Modolo, a Delta
spokesperson.
When American replaced roughly 35-lb pilot bags with 1.2-lb iPads,
it said it would save $1.2 million in fuel costs annually. Switching
to tablets from nearly 5-lb flight attendant manuals only will net
the airline $650,000 a year.
The remaining $300,000 in savings will come from reduced printing
and shipping costs.
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Airlines are "looking for lots of little things that together -
$300,000 at a time - could add up to real money," said industry
consultant Robert Mann.
Since 2005, American Airlines has saved 1 billion gallons of fuel
under a program called Fuel Smart, Huguely said.
Initiatives have ranged from pilots using only a single engine
during taxiing when this is deemed safe, to removing antiquated
phones attached to the seat backs of old planes, saving weight.
After years of losses, U.S. airlines have been profitable over the
last four years. Last quarter, American posted the best results in
its history.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin; Editing by Alwyn Scott and Diane
Craft)
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