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As the iPad seems to have taken over the world of portable entertainment, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the airlines have picked up on the invading devices to fill that gap which will allow passengers to have complete control over their in flight entertainment experience. It’s also a way for the airlines to create a new incentive to bring in loyal customers. Is it possible, iPads could be handed out to passengers like magazines? Well, it might not be that easy but in a sense, that seems to be where a new trend might be heading.

Some carriers have been exploring and experimenting with the idea of lending the devices to passengers. The decision to start offering the streaming devices is primarily a financial one. The cost to retro fit an airliner can exceed millions of dollars to install seat back monitors. The tablet option would save the airlines millions.

British Airways subsidiary OpenSkies will begin offering the iPads on their new flights between Paris and New York. Israeli airline El Al currently offers iPads loaded with movies, T.V series, games and music. However, these are only offered to those in the upper class sections. American Airlines offers the Galaxy Tabs in their business class cabins as well. Other airlines have been experimenting with offering them to economy passengers at a cost.

The iPad idea comes at the heels of many airlines installing their own Wi-Wi service with the intent to allow passengers to connect to it in order to stream content within their own devices. Delta Airlines uses Go Go on most of their aircraft and Southwest Airlines is using Row 44 to supply Wi Fi on theirs.

2013 will be an interesting year for the airline industry’s in flight entertainment offerings. The prediction will likely go the way of the airlines bottom line, money. The cost effect to offer a tablet compared to installing a seat back monitor is enough to actively seek out a change. One that we will probably see on most flights before the end of 2013.