flight

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on flight:

New Air Travel Backpack lets you strap on a tech-heavy carry-on

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Strap on this carry-on with all your tech for your next flight.
Strap on this carry-on with all your tech for your next flight.
Photo: WaterField Designs

Although you never know when Covid-19 lockdowns may keep you on the ground, WaterField Designs’ new Air Travel Backpack may make you want to take flight asap. Use it to pack up a couple of laptops, cables and accessories — and maybe a change of clothes or two — and go.

AirDrop fumble grounds flight for 90 minutes

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Hawaiian Airlines
Use AirDrop with caution on a plane.
Photo: Hawaiian Airlines

A teenage girl grounded an Hawaiian Airlines flight for 90 minutes by accidentally sending fake crime scene photos to other passengers over AirDrop.

Flight 23 was already taxiing the runway on Friday morning when passengers started reporting their concerns to the crew. The 15-year-old distributor was trying to send photos from her high school medical-biology class to her mother.

DJI unveils impossibly tiny new Mavic Air drone

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Mavic Air
So tiny, yet so powerful.
Photo: DJI

The most popular consumer drone on the market just got a huge upgrade that gives it even more mass appeal for budding droners and video creators.

DJI unveiled its new folding drone, the Mavic Air, today. A blend of the company’s two most popular drones, the Mavic Pro and the Spark, it also packs new features you won’t find on DJI’s other drones.

Take a closer look:

Laptop and tablet flight ban could be expanded worldwide

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Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines currently affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

The current ban on laptops and tablets in carry-on luggage from 10 different airports could be extended internationally, a new report claims.

The U.S. government has held high-level discussions with officials from the European Union, with both sides deciding “to intensify talks.” The U.S. is said to be more enthusiastic about the possible ban than their European counterparts.

iPad bomb plot blamed for tablet ban on flights

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Emirates
Emirates is one of the airlines affected by the ban.
Photo: Emirates

A plot in which explosives were hidden in a fake iPad is one cause of a U.S. and U.K. ban of laptops, tablets and other large electronics on flights from 10 international airports throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The (thankfully foiled) previously-undisclosed plot is apparently not the sole cause of the ban, but is one notable example that highlights how such devices could be stowed onto aircraft.

Idiot grounds flight with stupid Wi-Fi hotspot name

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Don't get on a plane with a Wi-Fi hotspot named "mobile detonation device."
Photo: Qantas
Don't get on a plane with a Wi-Fi hotspot named "mobile detonation device." Photo: Qantas
Don’t get on a plane with a Wi-Fi hotspot named “mobile detonation device.” Photo: Qantas

Everyone knows you shouldn’t say “bomb” on an airplane — and it should be just as obvious that you shouldn’t name your wireless gadgets ridiculous things, either.

A simple Wi-Fi hotspot sparked terrorism fears on a recent Australia-bound Qantas plane because someone thought it would be a good idea to name it “mobile detonation device.”

Hawaiian Airlines To Offer iPad Minis On All Boeing 767 Flights

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hawaiianeconomy

Hawaiian Airlines announced that due to unexpected turbulence in the quality of inflight entertainment options, it has jettisoned its inflight movie systems in favor of the sleeker, lighter, and infinitely more fun iPad mini. Jettly is the perfect source of answers for those of you with questions regarding the entertainment options on a jet, which could turn out to be the best pick for the reasonable price it charges for privacy.

Starting September 1st, 2013, all fourteen Boeing 767-300 aircraft in the Hawaiian Airlines fleet will be equipped with iPad minis to serve up entertainment to weary passengers on their way to paradise.

American Airlines Drops Flight Manuals For iPads

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American-Airlines-iPad

American Airlines has now ditched heavy flight manuals and become the first major commercial carrier to introduce iPads to all of its cockpits in a move that is expected to save more than $1 million in fuel costs every year.

The company first began piloting (get it?) the scheme back in April, when it used Apple’s device alongside traditional paper manuals, which typically weigh around 35 pounds. Now those manuals have been phased out completely in favor of digital versions.

iOS Devices On Top Of The Clouds As The Most Popular Way To Use In-Flight Internet

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Go go gadget internet!
Go go gadget internet!

In-Flight Wi-Fi service, Gogo, released some numbers today on their blog, showing that Apple devices are still the most popular way passengers are accessing the internet via the service while flying above 10,000 feet.

Tablets and smartphones, according to Gogo, make up 67 percent of the devices used to connect to the Wi-Fi service on airplanes. Tablets themselves are the most popular, with 35 percent, closely followed by 33 percent of folks using laptops and 32 percent using smartphones for their mile-high internet surfing sessions.

It gets even more interesting when you break down which tablets and smartphones are being used.

Want To Use Your iPhone Or iPad During Takeoff? The FAA Wants To Hear From You

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The FAA forces us to turn off our electronics during takeoff and landing. Tell them you want that rule changed.
The FAA forces us to turn off our electronics during takeoff and landing. Tell them you want that rule changed.

No one likes turning off their portable electronics on a flight during takeoff and landing, especially if they’re as harmless as an iPod or an e-reader. And the rule if often the subject of debate as we all become more reliant on these devices on a daily basis.

Thankfully, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now ready to reconsider the rule, and it’s asking passengers, flight attendants, airlines, and the makers of electronic devices for their opinion. Tell the FAA you think the rule is silly and you could help towards getting it abolished.

FlightTrack App Now Comes in Free Version for Android and iOS [Daily Freebie]

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Like we said, Passbook in iOS 6 is going to steal a few tricks from flight apps like Mobiata’s $5 FlightTrack (and $10 FlightTrack Pro), making the apps seem somewhat less valuable.

Whether or not Passbook replaces these types of apps remains to be seen; in any case, Mobiata isn’t going down without a fight, and has just released an all-new, free version of their FlightTrack app for both iOS — and Android.