British Airways will arm senior cabin crew with an iPad across its entire long and short haul fleet in a move to help with on-board customer service.
The move follows a successful trial over a few months in the summer where 100 of the airline's top crew members were given the device so they can quickly identify where each customer is sitting, the Executive Club status of a passenger or any special meal requirements.
BA says the three-month trial will trigger the start of not only the wider roll-out across long and short haul routes but also other ways of using the device to improve customer service on-board.
The motivation behind the scheme was to to replace the long scrolls of paper containing the passenger manifest, but also ensure customer details and boarding information is up-to-date using the iPad's 3G web connection.
The roll-out will see the addition of destination content to the iPads.
The introduction of the iPads is part of a grand scheme to invest £5 billion in new aircraft, renovate older cabins and other technology around BA over the next five years, BA claims.
iPads are slowly now becoming less of a unique feature at airlines, with Alaska Airlines giving the device to pilots to replace printed manuals in cockpit, for example, while Jetstar has now fully launched its iPad in-flight entertainment system.