American Airlines has won regulatory approval to swap the cabin crew’s paper manuals for lighter Samsung tablets in a change that will save nearly $1 million a year.
The new policy does not yet affect cabin crew at American Airlines merger-partner US Airways, and comes little more than a year after AA introducd paperless cockpits.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have also distributed smart devices to their pilots, and Delta plans to roll out an e-manual for cabin crew starting in October.
American said its cabin crew already have the tablets, and those at US Airways will receive them after the combined company receives a single operating certificate from the FAA, which is currently undergoing the approval process.
"Conserving fuel is important to an airline because it is a huge cost," said American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Huguely.
When American replaced its 35lb pilot cases with 1.2lb iPads, it said it would save $1.2 million in fuel costs annually. Switching to tablets from the nearly-5lb flight attendant manuals will net the airline $650,000 a year.
The remaining $300,000 in savings will come from reduced printing and shipping costs.