Traveling With The iPad

[chesterhound]

Hey everyone:

The carrier forum seems to be made up of a lot of travelers so I will pose a couple of questions. Later this month I will by traveling by plane to Europe. Does anyone know when going through security screening at the airport, will I have to remove my iPad from its Apple case?(very snug fitting, Apple case!). I know they make you remove laptops from their case and place them in a separate bin but not sure about the iPad.

Also, is there any way to charge the iPad while onboard the flight?

Thanks for any input,

chesterhound

 

[Davidmacpherson]

I have never been asked to take my iPad out of it's case, so in that respect I think you will be OK.

As for charging on board, well that depends entirely on who you are flying with and in which class you fly. Business class cabins will nearly always have a power socket, Economy class is less likely. I find most modern aircraft have standard sockets (in Business Class) although they may be configured with different style sockets eg North American, European, British.

David

 

[Hasty]

Never had to take the apple case off when flying and with a 10 hour battery life you could probably manage a return flight too

 

[chesterhound]

David & Hasty:
Thanks for the info, I was hopeful I wouldn't have to remove the iPad from the Apple case. As far as airline, I'm flying American Airlines, economy class. The website seatingguru.com shows my seat as having DC power. Not sure if that's the cigarette lighter style plug, but I don't have one in any case so maybe I can plug in while waiting to board for a short charge. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Al Rogers]

It depends on the TSA guy, I went to Holland three weeks ago and had no prblem,however on my return they made me take it out of the case and run it through by itself. So its a hit and miss thing. Read my post on my travel.

 

[iPadCharlie]

I am not doubting the seatingguru website, but the last time I flew to Europe on United, the power plugs were only available in business and first class... plus you still needed to supply your own EmPower adapter. The only way to be sure would be to check with American Airlines.

Of course watching movies, playing games or reading books will draw down the battery the quickest, but you should still have at least 10+ hours of screen time. If you will be listening to music with the screen off, the iPad will last for several DAYS!

 

[chesterhound]

I know sometimes the only way to know these things is to find out when you arrive, be it at the airport or the plane itself. Do you guys know if those DC chargers that plug into cigarette lighter sockets with the USB plug are safe to use with our iPads? Thanks again for everyone's input, I really appreciate it.

 

[Tinman]

I have a 5,000 mAh external battery pack that I bought for my iPhone. It was only $20 on clearance at Staples and is slightly larger, yet thinner, than a deck of cards. Charges and recharges itself via USB. I plan on trying it with my ipad but i suspect the worst case scenario is it will just charge more slowly, like when using a standard USB port.

Will go with me on trips if it works.



Michael

 

[VapnRealtor]

I have never been asked to take my iPad out of it's case, so in that respect I think you will be OK.

As for charging on board, well that depends entirely on who you are flying with and in which class you fly. Business class cabins will nearly always have a power socket, Economy class is less likely. I find most modern aircraft have standard sockets (in Business Class) although they may be configured with different style sockets eg North American, European, British.

David

I agree with you and neither have I. I bet it would be rare t have it happen.

VR

 

[chesterhound]

Update:

I just returned from my Europe trip and did not have to remove my iPad from its case. I did place it in its own bin for security screening. Also, seatguru.com was correct on their airplane layout. There was a cigarette lighter style plug at my seat for charging but some of you were correct, I didn't need to charge it due to outstanding battery life.

chesterhound

 

[iPadCharlie]

Also, seatguru.com was correct on their airplane layout. There was a cigarette lighter style plug at my seat for charging but some of you were correct, I didn't need to charge it due to outstanding battery life.

chesterhound

Not to be nosey, but what class were you flying and on what airline? The last time I flew to Europe (2 years ago) was on American and the only class that offered electrical outlets were Business and First Class and they used those EmPower® DC power ports that require a special adapter cable.

 

[DuggerOregon]

Recent experience - Spain, iPad out of carry on, Italy, Germany and US no issues, left in carry on.

 

[chesterhound]

1991:

I flew American Airlines in Economy class. The aircraft was a 767. On the seatguru website, the power ports are shown as dots on the seating chart. My port was right where it was shown to be on the website.

chesterhound

 

[iPadCharlie]

Thanks Chester!

Obviously we did not fly on the same aircraft! We flew from Chicago to Frankfurt and honestly, I don't remember what type of aircraft it was. On the way back, we flew from Zurich to Washington, D.C. and I don't remember that one either!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I think I may be having some memory issues. And I don't know if I mentioned this, but I think I may be having some memory issues.

 

[Ludzy]

Don't want to hijack the thread but I will be travelling with my iPad in the new year. Flying to the states from the uk. I'm planning on either picking up a AT&T microsim when I arrive or order one first off of eBay. So I have it ready straight when I get there. What I would like to know is once inserted will the sim work straight away after I've purchased the data plan or will I need to enter the correct apn settings. The only reason that I ask is because I've read that us ipads already have the at&t settings built in. But mines a uk iPad so will it still work straight away with no iTunes plug in etc...

Cheers