Toughpads replace cockpit computers across Finnair fleet

August 14, 2015
Rugged Laptops and Tablets
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Finnair trusts Panasonic Toughpad in its aircrafts

Finnair, one of the safest airlines in the world, recently decided to update their in-cockpit computers and replace them with tablets. Their initial deployment plan targeted placing 150 tablets across their global fleet. After an extensive review field of 20 different Windows 8 tablets, using a test group of pilots and cabin crew providing real-world feedback, Toughpad FZ-G1 was chosen as its tablet of choice, satisfying their needs in all key areas.

“We initially looked into 20 different Windows 8 tablets, five of which were selected for further assessment. We had specific criteria, and a test group that included both pilots and cabin crew,” said Timo Seppala, Finnair technical pilot.

According to Seppälä, the Panasonic Toughpad had several features setting it apart from the competition.

“The Toughpad has a very wide brightness range, and Panasonic also created a custom firmware for us, giving greater range in lower brightness displays. This allowed us to match the brightness of the displays of the Toughpad devices with our other cockpit displays.”

As for durability, the Toughpad FZ-G1 far outperformed the other tablets that Finnair considered, which are more intended for consumer or light office use.

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Used in calculating take-off engine power and maintaining technical logs, the Toughpads have provided a handy replacement for a bag full of maps and manuals.

The increased reliability of their Panasonic Toughpad EFB solution provides Finnair staff with access to their critical applications and information for a greater period of time, boosting productivity and enabling Finnair to improve operational performance. Finnair uses their devices for performance calculation apps, to view and update aircraft technical logs, and for manuals and service instructions for the entire crew.

Finnair plans to use the Toughpad FZ-G1’s data connection to expand its uses in the future, and will examine leveraging it for updating passenger data, weather radar images and other flight-related information to keep its cockpit and cabin crews informed.

Download the Case Study (PDF 1.42 Mb)

Read the full article from Panasonic for Business.
Check out the Toughpad FZ-G1.