Australian flag carrier Qantas has stated that it will be substituting all of its current BlackBerry handsets with Apple iPhones.

Qantas currently has 1300 employees using various BlackBerry models and could save millions of dollars by letting BlackBerry go. Chief information officer for Qantas, Paul Jones, while talking to The Australian said:

There has been strong demand from Qantas employees for the iPhone, with a large majority of respondents to a recent survey indicating that this is their preferred smartphone option.

Jones confirmed that although Qantas has not yet begun replacing the BlackBerry handsets, it will do so soon. He cited a number of reasons for the move including iPhone’s easy-to-use user interface. Further elaborating on the decision, he explained:

Transition from the Blackberry to the iPhone is part of Qantas’s broader mobility strategy and once complete will result in significant cost savings.

The airlines will not make it mandatory for all staff to carry iPhones. Jones said that Qantas will also support Android devices by following the bring-your-own-phone policy. Furthermore, Qantas plans to introduce iPads for pilots instead of hardcopy documentation.

Source: The Australian via ZDNet