Etihad to offer iPads, free WiFi to US-bound passengers

Emirates too is mulling a similar move of offering laptops due to US ban on electronic devices

Etihad will offer iPads and free Wi-Fi services to first class and business class passengers on its US-bound flights from Abu Dhabi, from the coming Sunday. 

The move is in response to the US government curbs on carriage of laptops, iPads and such devices by passengers inside an aircraft cabin. The restrictions apply for US-bound flights from 10 airports in West Asia and North Africa. 

Etihad did not comment on whether the iPads would be security-cleared by the government. Emirates airline is said to be considering a similar move, of offering laptops to passengers. Its president, Tim Clark, told Bloomberg news agency that the airline was working on creative ways to work around the ban, such as this.

Gulf airlines, led by Emirates, carry nearly half of US-bound traffic from India and the American curbs will hit them the most.  Emirates and Turkish Airlines are also offering US-bound passengers an opportunity to use their electronic devices until the boarding gates at Dubai and Istanbul airports.

The new restrictions say laptops, iPads and other such devices need to kept in check-in bags; they cannot be carried inside the cabins.

Robert Williams, head of Asia Pacific sales at British Airways, said it was too early to comment on the shift of traffic from Gulf hubs to Europe. He said customers from India tended to book their tickets to the US earlier than they booked for London, and the airline had to ensure that seats remain available for travel to the US as well as London. “We are focusing on origin-destination business (India-London), as well as the US connections. It is not just the US — there is a significant amount of traffic which goes from India to Canada,” he added.

About 27 per cent of passengers from India travel to the US via Europe and London competes with Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam for the onward traffic to North America.

International Air Transport Association has criticised the ban and called upon the US and UK governments to find an alternative.

“The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate. Even in the short term, it is difficult to understand their effectiveness. And, the commercial distortions they create are severe. We call on governments to work with the industry to find a way to keep flying secure, without separating passengers from their personal electronics,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director-general.

Countering ban:

• The move is in response to the US government curbs on carriage of laptops, iPads and such devices by passengers inside an aircraft cabin
• The restrictions apply for US-bound flights from 10 airports in West Asia and North Africa 
• Gulf airlines, led by Emirates, carry nearly half of US-bound traffic from India and the American curbs will hit them the most