American Airlines, the first airline to ditch huge paper pilot flight books for iPads, has had a little trouble with them this week. The airline reports that 24 flights on Tuesday (4/28) and 50 more yesterday were delayed by failure of an app that drives the mapping function of the software.
Pilots were able to collect backup paper maps and take to the air; in some cases returning to the gate for a WiFi connection was able to fix the problem.
On the plus side, the airline says, the maps and other data are updated much more frequently and quickly than they were on paper, and using the lightweight devices instead of 40-pound books has allowed American to save an estimated 400,000 gallons a year of fuel. CNN.com has MORE
Photo: the iPad and the books it replaced Photo: American Airlines
