Delta prepares electronic flight bag replacement… and turns to Microsoft

It seems everywhere you go these days – be it in the office, in the street, on trains or in the air, tablet computers are out in force – be they Apple based, Google Android based (such as the Samsung Galaxy or my own HP Slate 7), and occasionally, the odd Windows 8 tablet (either in a convertible PC form or the Microsoft Surface form).

They’ve proved popular with airlines – as well as acting as In Flight Entertainment Devices, they can be used for Customer management, but also used to replace the flight bag for the pilot.

Delta have opted to deploy tablets in the cockpit…. and turned to Microsoft and their new Surface 2 Tablet.

The tablets will initially be used as electronic flight bags with the Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro application, with them deployed to Boeing 757 and 767 crews first, with the fleet to follow.

Delta is aiming to equip crews with Microsoft Surface 2 tablets by end of 2014.

By equipping pilots with these devices, this will replace the 38lb bags pilots lug around. And that also has a benefit to the bottom line too by reducing 7.5 million sheets of paper, and 1.2 million gallons of fuel saved from flying those papers around. Or $13 million per year.

There’s a wonderful video to go with this:

For those Delta pilots hoping to do other related PC related tasks, Delta have opted for the ARM Based version of Surface2 as opposed to the X64 version, running Windows 8.1  – allowing the tables to be locked down securely.

Well, there are savings here – and Microsoft gets a launch customer for over 11,000 ARM based Tablets. Delta also uses Nokia 820s (operating Windows Phone 8) for cabin crew too.

Other airlines such as American and JetBlue use tablet computers too – including the Apple iPad.

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