Reports: American Airlines wins FAA acclaim for in-cockpit iPads, will launch Friday

In case you fly as an American Airlines premium passenger, you will get to play with a Galaxy Tab . Whenever you actually fly the plane, though, you will have to make do with an iPad. Per ZDNet, the carrier has already won FAA approval to exploit iPads “as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers,” making it the world’s first airline to be totally tablet friendly. A source just about the location tells ZDNet that AA “will begin iPad operations on B-777 aircraft” before expanding to other planes, and that both first and second generation devices had been cleared for cockpit use. An AA pilot, meanwhile, tells TechCrunch that the company’s tablets will feature JeppTC (a flight chart app available within the App Store), and that each one onboard slates can be required to fly with an additional battery. This system, slated to kick off this Friday, may also offer substantial savings in paper and fuel costs. In accordance with Seattle Pi’s estimates, a single iPad would replace some 35 pounds of paper per year, translating to approximately $1.2 million in saved fuel costs. Insiders say United and Delta are pursuing similar initiatives, with the latter reportedly searching for an Android-specific solution, though for the time being, only American Airlines has won the FAA’s seal of approval.