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Four 'Airline' stories September 2013 - December 2014
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Delta security flaw enables passengers to access someone else’s online boarding pass

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Dec 16 2014 - 1:39 pm PT
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Delta 2

Delta 1

Hackers of NY founder Dani Grant has discovered (via Engadget) a security flaw that enables Delta passengers to access the boarding passes of others, even those flying with different airlines like Southwest. Grant realized that she could share a link allowing anyone to download her boarding pass, and then change one digit in the URL and be presented with a completely different boarding pass belonging to someone else.
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Delta’s iPad app now allows passengers to stream movies & TV shows during flights

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 1 2014 - 6:06 am PT
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Passengers inflight in economy class

Delta Air Lines has updated its Fly Delta iPad app to allow passengers to stream movies and TV shows from the onboard wifi network. Using wifi to stream movies to iPads was first trialled back in 2011 by Qantas, followed by Hawaiian Airlines almost a year ago and introduced as a standard service by United back in May.

The Delta Studio service provides all streaming content free of charge to international, First Class and Economy Comfort passengers, while domestic Economy customers get some content free with ‘premium content’ being chargeable … 
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Airlines implement gate-to-gate handheld device rules faster than expected

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 7 2013 - 4:51 am PT
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Photo: globalnerdy.com

Photo: globalnerdy.com

United and American have joined Delta and Jet Blue in permitting gate-to-gate use of portable electronic devices, following the FAA ruling making it legal to do so.

The FAA had said at the time that airlines would need to perform individual tests to demonstrate that the use of electronic devices during all phases of flight would be safe, and had suggested that this might take some time. With the announcement expected as long ago as March, however, it appears that several airlines undertook this testing in advance of the formal ruling.

There has still been no clarification on what constitutes a ‘handheld’ device, but airlines so far appear to be saying yes to tablets and ebook readers and no to laptops. With many tablet and Bluetooth keyboard combos being visually indistinguishable from ultrabooks to non-technical cabin crews, we shall watch with interest to see how the rules are enforced.

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Fixing a Jumbo Jet? There’s now an iPad app for that …

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 24 2013 - 4:32 am PT
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Photo: ainonline.com

Photo: ainonline.com

With iPads already in use on airline flight-decks and cabins, aircraft mechanics will soon be able to use them when carrying out maintenance on Boeing aircraft, reports CNET.

The aviation giant, which makes planes like the 747, 787 Dreamliner, 777, and 737, said that maintenance technicians will be able to use the apps for instant access to airplane manuals, part numbers and inventory, maintenance history, and more. The company said that will help the airlines resolve mechanical issues faster, leading to reduced flight delays and lower costs.

The apps have been trialled with several airlines over the course of a year, and are due to be officially launched this week.

In related news, we reported back in March that the FAA was expected to approve iPads and other electronic equipment to be used in Flightsafe mode throughout a flight (including take-off and landing). It’s now been confirmed that the FAA will be issuing this approval on Friday, though it won’t come into effect until sometime next year.

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