FAA approves IPAD's in cockpit

Apple's iPad has won approval from US regulators to display navigational charts for some charter pilots, a step that may see the end of paper maps in the cockpit. With the Federal Aviation Administration endorsing iPads in a test project at Executive Jet Management, a unit of Warren Buffett's NetJets, the way is open for others to seek authorisation for, said Les Dorr, an agency spokesman.

IPad use by professional pilots would support Apple's goal of winning more business buyers. The company's total corporate sales may rise 51 per cent to $11.3 billion (Dh41.50b) in 2011, said Brian Marshall, a Gleacher and Co analyst in San Francisco. Revenue was $76.3 billion last year. "This is mission-critical computing," said Marshall, who has a "buy" rating on Apple. "For them to win this type of approval speaks volumes about the level of sophistication of what can be accomplished with the iPad."

Charts showing data such as airports and radio frequencies for a state or region have been staples of US flying since the 1930s. But so-called electronic flight bags, computers configured for aviation use, began winning FAA approval for use at airlines in the last decade, superseding paper charts. A unit from Milwaukee-based Astronautics Corporation of America weighs 8.2 kilograms, 12 times as much as the iPad.

Apple's tablet wasn't cleared as a navigation device in a professional cockpit until FAA's February 1 approval to Executive Jet. While the decision only covers Executive Jet, commercial carriers now have a citable case for iPad use, according to Jeppesen, the Boeing map and accessory business that designed the application used.

Pilots at Alaska Air Group's Alaska Airlines, which uses only paper charts in its 116 aircraft, are testing iPads for some functions, said Marianne Lindsey, a spokeswoman. AMR's American Airlines and American Eagle rely on paper charts in its 900-plane fleet, said Ed Martelle, a spokesman. Delta Air Lines, the world's second-largest carrier, is still paper driven, according to Gina Laughlin, a spokeswoman. Delta is pursuing approval to test iPads and other tablet devices next quarter, Laughlin added.

"Many air carriers have been using electronic flight bags for years, but they've been carrying the paper with them as well," said Alison Duquette, an FAA spokeswoman. The iPad's touch-screen and illumination display could be an advantage over folded paper in finding information such as an emergency-landing site, said John Cox, a former US Airways pilot who is now chief executive officer of consultant Safety Operating Systems LLC in Washington. "It's easier to sort through the charts that you need."

Delta looks to surpass Indigo - Considering 200 new single aisle jets'

Delta Air Lines Inc. is considering an order for as many as 200 jets — possibly with options for 200 more — to replace the aging fleet it uses for domestic flying. Delta said it asked several major aircraft manufacturers for proposals for firm orders for 100 to 200 planes, with options for 200 more, with deliveries to begin in early 2013. No decisions about an order have been made yet, said Nat Pieper, Delta's vice president for fleet strategy and transactions. The request went to manufacturers in late December. The new planes would replace Delta workhorses such as the DC-9-50s and Airbus A320s that it got when it bought Northwest Airlines in 2008, as well as Boeing 757-200s, which both airlines have operated. CEO Richard Anderson said in a message to employees that Delta pilots will fly the new planes, not feeder carriers. Delta has shifted flying away from feeder carriers, and has gotten rid of more than 70 of its 50-seat regional jets and 25 Saab 340 turboprops. A jet order will give Delta the size of planes it needs to be able to replace retiring airplanes and have modest growth when the economy and fuel prices support it, Anderson said. He said Delta is looking for small, medium, and large planes in the narrowbody category, meaning planes with a single aisle for passengers. Boeing Co. and Airbus, a unit of EADS, are the main manufacturers who could meet such an order, although Chinese and Brazilian manufacturers also plan new planes of the size Delta is looking for.

Earlier this week Airbus said an Indian airline made the biggest commercial jet order ever, for 180 of its A320's and A320neo's. A Delta order would have the potential to eclipse that, although Delta could also break the order up among multiple manufacturers. In December 2009, United Airlines said it would order 50 new planes, split between Boeing and Airbus.

The weather spoils holiday travel in US

Hundreds of people were stuck Monday morning at the three major New York City-area airports. Airlines announced more than 1,000 cancelled flights for Monday. Once the airports reopen, passengers will have a hard time finding open seats on later flights. Seats are already scarce because of the busy holiday season, and airlines are operating fewer flights than they did before the recession.  Airlines move planes away from the path of big storms to prevent them from being stranded. Now the airlines have to get those planes back to the Northeast before they can fly stranded passengers home. They may also have to ferry pilots and flight attendants into the affected areas.

By midmorning, American cancelled 236 flights for Monday and sister carrier American Eagle scratched another 175. Delta Air Lines cancelled 700 flights, US Airways cancelled 550 including regional flights, and Southwest dropped 188. United and Continental were updating their figures but had already announced nearly 300 cancellations.