American Airlines to offer Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as amenity on flights

American Airlines on Monday announced it would start offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as an in-flight entertainment device on select flights. It plans to deploy 6,000 Samsung tablets in premium-level cabins of some transcontinental and international flights.

This will be the first time a North American airline has offered a branded tablet for in-flight entertainment. It’s also a sign that tablet PCs are increasingly becoming the go-to entertainment device for the luxury class.

“We are working hard to revitalize our fleet and invest wisely in new products and services to modernize and enhance the travel experience,” said Virasb Vahidi, American’s Chief Commercial Officer, in a statement. “Working with Samsung to outfit our premium cabins with the innovative Galaxy Tab will give our premium customers a modern and innovative in-flight entertainment experience.”

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a larger and more powerful version of the original Galaxy Tab. Samsung is touting the device as the “world’s thinnest tablet” at just 8.6 millimeters. The Wi-Fi only tablet has a 10.1-inch screen, Android 3.1 preloaded, and an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor.