Delta will provide 11,000 pilots with Surface 2 electronic flight bags

Last month, I wrote about Delta equipping 19,000+ flight attendants with Windows Phone 8. On Monday, Delta said it will also be providing 11,000 pilots with Microsoft Surface 2 flight bags.

It seems Delta is quite supportive of the Microsoft ecosystem, and if you read the details of the press release, its usage of these new Surface 2, running Windows RT 8.1, makes perfect sense.

I bought an original Surface RT and still think there are valid use cases for such as device. This includes college students, those looking for a UI similar to their work PC that is not just for work, and people like these Delta pilots.

Delta stated that it will save $13 million each year in fuel and associated costs by using these Surface 2 electronic flight bags. Delta will be using FliteDeck Pro on the Surface 2 for charts, navigation utilities, and other real-time information.

Pilots currently carry a traditional 38-pound flight bag so Delta will realize savings in weight and in paper reduction. The ability to view multiple applications side by side is a benefit for pilots, as well.

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