Several flights of American Airlines Group AAL, which came into being following the Dec 2013 merger of AMR (American Airlines' parent group) and US Airways, experienced significant delays due to a software glitch. According to media reports, pilots’ iPads crashed abruptly resulting in the delay.
We remind investors that the Fort Worth, TX-based carrier has been utilizing tech giant Apple Inc.’s AAPL iPads in its cockpits for the last few years. In order to get rid of the deluge of papers that was carried by pilots to primarily view flight plans, American Airlines had resorted to this new-age technology and implemented electronic flight bags (electronic information management devices) throughout its fleet. The process, completed in Jun 2013, had American Airlines equip its cockpits with electronic flight bags, thereby doing away with approximately 35 pounds of paper-based documents. The replacement of paper kit bags resulted in massive savings in fuel costs. Other carriers such as Delta Air Lines DAL too have resorted to the same technology.
The iPads are used by the airline for distributing flight plans and other relevant information to the crew. The malfunctioning app, which robbed the pilots access to navigational charts thereby causing customers unnecessary delays and harassments, resulted in the shares of the carrier declining 4.51% to $48.88 on Apr 29.
Problem and Solution Identified
The flight delays and the consequent inconvenience caused to its fliers prompted American Airlines to thoroughly investigate the matter. The investigation revealed that the problem lay in an iPad app created by Boeing’s BA Jeppesen. Maps of multiple airport facilities are present in the app. The presence of the redundant navigation map for Ronald Reagan National Airport in the app was the root cause of the problem.
The solution to the software glitch was also provided. To resolve the issue, the pilots were asked to delete the app and then download it again. The glitch, though now solved, has highlighted the unforeseen risks associated with reliance on technology in today’s digital age.
Zacks Rank
American Airlines Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the airline space is JetBlue Airways JBLU, which holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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