OTG, an operator of restaurants in airports, is deploying more than 7,000 iPads at three major airports

OTG today announced that it is deploying more than 7,000 new iPads at three major airports over the next 18 months to give travelers a new level of access to tech amenities and high-quality food at the gates.

This unprecedented platform represents an investment of more than $10 million in technology and infrastructure alone. Combined with OTG's newly renovated chef-driven restaurants, the company is dramatically improving the traveler's airport experience.

To date, OTG has deployed 300 new iPads in LaGuardia Airport Terminal D, with hundreds more to be installed throughout the terminal during the summer. The full deployment at the three major airport hubs will occur over the next 18 months. OTG will deploy more than 2,000 new iPads at LaGuardia Terminals C & D; an additional 2,500 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; and another 2,500 new iPads throughout Toronto Pearson International Airport.

"We believe this to be the largest deployment of consumer-facing iPads in the world, and for us, it's just the beginning," said Rick Blatstein, chief executive officer of OTG. "We have plans to roll out thousands of additional iPads at other airports around the United States and the world. Technology is an important complement to the customer service experience."

For travelers, this means a new level of comfort at the airport. The experience starts when a customer sits down in front of a new iPad at one of OTG's chef-driven restaurants or newly renovated seating areas at the gates. From there, they can order meals through an intuitive visual menu, where OTG wait staff is on hand to assist throughout the entire process. Orders are then prepared fresh, and delivered to their seat in 15 minutes or less.

Ordering food through an iPad is just the beginning. With OTG's custom browser, travelers can easily log in to their Facebook, Twitter and personal email accounts, and be confident that their personal information is securely removed from the iPad the moment the home button is pressed. Travelers can also check their flight status, play games and watch the news through pre-loaded apps such as Bloomberg News on the iPads.

Making the experience even more engaging, travelers can pick up the iPad out of its custom designed stand, hold it in their hands and plug in their own headphones for sound. OTG retained technology firm Control Group to develop this custom application suite, which brings the personal experience of the iPad to the public space.

"This is a unique deployment that has no precedent," Blatstein remarked. "We're marrying culinary excellence at the airport with new media. In addition to the content we are already offering, we see this as a significant opportunity for broader deployment of digital content from movies to news to games."

High res images and broadcast quality B-Roll footage are available to support this announcement. Please access at this OTG site.