Qantas ban may extend to Mac laptops

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Dan Warne25 August 2006, 4:50 AM

Qantas is seeking advice on whether it should place restrictions on the use of Apple Mac notebooks on its aircraft, following the computer maker's recall of 1.8million batteries today.


Qantas is seeking advice on whether it should place restrictions on the use of Apple Mac notebooks on its aircraft, following the computer maker's recall of 1.8million batteries today.

A Qantas spokesman told APC this afternoon that the company was seeking further information on the precise risk posed by the batteries in Apple PowerBooks and iBooks, and whether they posed the same risk as Dell batteries.

"We have put limitations on Dell computers and at this stage we are awaiting further information from Apple," said the spokesman.

Apple's product recall only covers discontinued models of notebook: iBook and PowerBook. Owners of the company's new flagship model, the MacBook Pro, may face arguments with flight attendants if Qantas does institute restrictions: the MacBook Pro looks exactly the same as a PowerBook.

Yesterday, Qantas said that Dell notebook users could only use their laptop on a plane on battery power, or with the battery removed and the unit plugged into the power outlet in first or business class.

Dell seems to be delighted that Apple has recalled the batteries, dedicating a whole post on its Direct2Dell blog commending Apple on the move. It was also at pains to point out that its 4.1million recalled batteries are only a small share of the 24.9million batteries it shipped over the two year period.


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Tommo_UK:

"Owners of the company’s new flagship model, the MacBook Pro, may face arguments with flight attendants if Qantas does institute restrictions: the MacBook Pro looks exactly the same as a PowerBook."

Yeah right. Except it says "PowerBook" or "MacBook Pro" under the screen when you open it. Yeah, really hard to tell the difference isn't it. Duh.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

iMe:

it does not look exactly the same - the built in camera is quite difficult to get for the older powerbooks, and so is the infra red sensor...

so much for *exactly* the same..... oh yes, it is the same colour... you are right there....

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Shin:

Put restriction on all laptops. Qantas is not asking passengers not to use laptop, they are just asking them not to "charge" their battery in flight.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

matt_od:

wow... you geeks. to an untrained eye they DO look exactly the same. the differences you are listing are very very tiny when it comes to physical appearences.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

zeoman1001:

geez. take one look at an MBP and you can tell it's different. come on! there's an iSight on the top of screen! and oh yeah...as a matter of fact, it DOES say "MacBook Pro" below the screen. come on people....it's not that difficult...

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne:

Yep, just like how phones have "FLIGHT MODE" and have an icon on the screen that clearly shows that the radio is disabled. Flight attendants are always helpful and cooperative when you show them that, right?

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Greg Norman:

Will they be able to tell the difference between a 17" and a 15" PowerBook? There have been no recalls on the 17".

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

j newton:

The last thing they'll care about is which model it is.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

MK:

Dan,

You make a perfect point regarding phones and flight mode. I had a debate with a Flight Attendant just a few weeks ago about my Nokia E61. Because it looks like a phone and it says "Nokia", regardless of whether its got flight mode or not, I wasn't allowed to use it.

Despite my arguing with the Flight Attendant, they couldn't or didn't want to understand the concept of the fact that in flight mode it's just a PDA.

If they're going to have rules like this, they need to educate the Flight Attendants properly so they don't end up pissing off paying customers who really do know better when they try to (incorrectly) 'lay down the law'.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Nate:

and most dells look a like (a 620 vs. 520 vs. 820, etc.)

The easiest difference I could see not opening the case is the power connector. Round on G4, rectangular (magnet) on Intel MacBook Pro.

Another alternative would be to carry a list of recalled batteries and show that your battery is not in that subset.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Nate:

You don't need to open the case, just look at the power adapter connector. The G4 is round and friction-based, the MacBook Pro is rectangular and magnetic.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Larry:

Just quit flying. Isn't that what iSight is for? Have a meeting from the comfort of your office.

29 February 2008, 8:28 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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