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Airlines have been racing to find a solution to the electronics ban; Qatar and Etihad are the latest to go the extra mile by lending their passengers large electronic devices. Following on from last week’s innovative solution by Emirates to gate check passenger’s devices, now Etihad and Qatar will lend you a device to use during your flight.
Qatar’s Solution
Qatar is launching a Laptop Loan service for its Business Class passengers traveling to the US. Passengers will find that they have complimentary laptops aboard the aircraft that are available for their use for the duration of the flight. For passengers traveling in Economy Qatar is taking the sting out of the ban by offering them one hour of free Wi-Fi, or the option to purchase a package for the whole flight for $5.
Etihad’s Idea
Etihad will be taking a slightly different track than Qatar, per the company’s website Etihad will be offering complimentary Wi-Fi vouchers and iPads to passengers. Both will be available to all Business and First class passengers on nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi to the US.
Our Take
These are great moves by Qatar and Etihad, as well as other moves by other airlines affected by the ban, which is trying to minimize the effect of the electronics’ ban on passengers. While having devices to use on flights is great there are questions of security when you access your email or any other service that potentially has confidential information. However, for non-data sensitive uses, it is great to have the option to carry on doing some work in the air. Hopefully, we'll continue to see this innovation by all airlines affected by the ban.
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