In a major sales coup for Microsoft, Delta Airlines announced plans to replace pilots’ flight bags with Surface 2 tablets. Up to 11,000 tablets will be rolled out on 700 planes worldwide.

Skift’s Jason Clampet says the move will help airlines save on fuel costs.

“This announcement demonstrates Delta’s absolute commitment to bringing the best in technology innovation into their flight operations. The full HD Surface screen and ten-hour battery life will be perfect for flights where Delta pilots will get seamless real-time data and visualization in a variety of lighting conditions. And then they can be productive off the plane with Microsoft Office and our click-in keyboard. We look forward to seeing how Delta amazes us with its Surfaces,” Microsoft’s Brian Hall said in a release.

But for tablet and travel industry observers, the amazing thing might be the future ramifications of this deal. Redmond has struggled to find customers for the Surface, and the aviation industry largely prefers iPads. There’s no word on whether Microsoft gave Delta preferential pricing in the deal, or how Delta will juggle firmware updates with FAA requirements.

Delta Airlines has continued its Windows device journey, announcing that it will provide Microsoft Surface 2 tablets to its 11,000 pilots worldwide.

The news follows an announcement in August that Delta would deploy Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones to 19,000 flight attendants for on-board purchases.

Delta said it hopes to make all of its cockpits paperless by the end of 2014, with pilots using the Surface devices to digitally access charts, checklists and reference documents using the Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro app. The airline will begin deploying Surface 2 devices to Boeing 757 and 767 pilots later this year.

Delta expects the tablet deployment to save $13 million per year in fuel and associated costs because it will remove the need to carry 17 kilogram flight bags on the aircraft. This will deliver an annual fuel usage saving of 4.5 million litres, or 11.8 million kilograms in carbon emissions. The tablet rollout is also expected to cut the airline’s yearly paper usage by 7.5 million sheets.

The tablets are Windows RT 8.1 versions of Microsoft’s Surface line, which means they run on ARM processors and have longer battery life than the Intel Haswell-equipped Surface Pro 2. The RT devices do not run legacy Windows apps.

“This intuitive device puts key information at their fingertips right when they need it,” said Delta senior vice president, Steve Dickson. “By eliminating paper, we’ll reduce clutter and minimise time spent looking for flight information allowing our pilots the opportunity for greater situational awareness in the air and on the ground.”

Going digital is part of a broader modernisation initiative at Delta, Dickson said.

“With these improvements, we’re able to reduce the airline’s environmental impact while providing a great deal of flexibility to continue to add mobile technology solutions into our flying operations.”

Qantas last year announced a similar initiative to reduce environmental impact by giving tablets to pilots, but the big Australian airline chose to deploy Apple iPads.

Microsoft announced its new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets late last month, about one year after the launch of the original Surface RT and Surface Pro. Microsoft has had trouble selling the original Surface tablets and analysts say enterprise adoption of Surface has been low in Australia.

While business adoption of Microsoft mobile devices has been slow, the company has the advantage of already being in front of CIOs’ eyes in other areas and Windows remains the dominant business PC operating system, Telsyte analyst Rodney Gedda said in a recent interview.

Microsoft has “existing relationships with enterprises [and] it’s a very competitive company that doesn’t take no for answer,” he said.

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Delta Airlines is equipping its 11,000 pilots worldwide with
Microsoft Surface 2 devices for their electronic flight bags (EFBs). The new
devices will replace the current paper versions of the EFBs, and provide
electronic access to key charts, reference documents and checklists. The move
is expected to save the airline US$13mn per year in fuel and associated costs.

As we had shared with you earlier, in the month of August, Delta
Airlines equipped its 19, 000 flight attendants with Nokia Lumia 820 handsets
powered by Windows 8 to enhance passenger experience and improve on-board
purchase process.

The deployment means that from cockpit to cabin, Delta flight
crews will now have access to the full, connected range of Microsoft devices
and services, demonstrating their commitment to bringing innovation onto their
flights – from real-time data and visualization for their pilots, to the best
possible service for their customers in the cabin.

It would appear that Delta airlines are bucking some device trends this upcoming travel season in a move that will have Microsoft pleased. Though the airline had been working with Apple’s iPad slate for some time now, they’ve begun transitioning to the Microsoft-made Surface 2. This tablet is up for pre-order as of the 24th of September, and will begin appearing on doorsteps and in stores on the 22nd of October here in the United States.

Meanwhile Delta also began transitioning pilots and flight attendants to Windows Phone 8 devices for flights. This move in combination with the Surface 2 push makes it appear that Delta has some big plans in the near future regarding apps and service support. For the iPad there’s an entertainment-aimed glass-bottomed jet app for the masses – that’s for the passengers though, not so much for the pilots or the flight attendents.

Delta’s pilots have until been allowed – not issued – iPads in the cockpit with a BYOD (bring your own device) program. They’ll be switching to a standard with the Surface 2 soon. Extremely soon, if word from WindowsITPro is to be believed. There Paul Thurrott also provided the following note from Delta to its employees.

“In less than two years, Delta cockpits will be paperless as we roll-out the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet running Windows 8.1 RT as our company-issued device. The 757/767 fleet will be the first to make the transition with the 777, 747 and MD88 as fast followers. Look for an announcement from Delta and Microsoft in the coming days about our partnership on the initiative.”

Thurrott also suggested that – in accordance with the Nokia Lumia 820 being handed out to flight attendants (nearly 19,000 of them in all), Nokia was originally supposed to be the manufacturer of the first Windows RT tablet for the airline. That’s the codenamed “Sirius” Nokia tablet, if you’re wondering – now replaced by the Surface 2 for unknown reasons.

You’ll find American Airlines handing iPads to their pilots to cut down on the use of physical manuals and books, having gotten approval for this move in March of 2013. Over at Hawaiian Airlines, iPad mini rentals are live in effect.

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The
Delta Airlines Inc.

(
DAL

) stock got positive reactions from the market to the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s (DOT) approval of its tie up with
Virgin Atlantic for better flight offerings between the U.S. and
U.K. The approval, which was seen as the final hurdle to the
trans-Atlantic joint venture (JV), came within a month of the
tentative nod from DOT.

Looking back, in Dec 2012, Delta proposed to acquire a 49%
stake in British carrier Virgin Atlantic from Singapore Airlines.
The acquisition closed in Jun 2013 after the U.S. Department of
Justice and European Commission cleared the deal.

Now, with the DOT nod, the JV will promote competition within
the U.S. and U.K. markets and in turn benefit customers. The
transport service regulator also noted that the JV will offer
customers with more travel options between the cross Atlantic
nations, in particular the New York and London market.

Currently, New York-London is the most lucrative business
market in the world for passenger carriers that target business
customers within the route. The route is currently being
dominated by British Airways and American Airlines.  

Delta and Virgin Atlantic will also work together to optimise
their network opportunities and operate 32 daily flights between
North America and U.K. The trans-Atlantic amalgamation will
subsequently give Delta more control over the New York-London
route and the second spot in this market with nine daily
roundtrip flights.

Per the terms of the JV agreement between Delta and Virgin
Atlantic, both carriers will share the expenses and revenues of
the flights. Delta holds a commanding position in the U.S. market
while Virgin Atlantic enjoys hefty slots at the popular Heathrow
Airport.

The deal provides Virgin an opportunity to slash losses, while
for Delta it’s an opening to strengthen its operations on some of
the busiest routes on either side of the Atlantic.  However,
we believe the Delta-Virgin Atlantic alliance will benefit
customers the most, who will gain from expanded and enhanced
flight connectivity to key markets, better pricing, seating
facilities and suitable booking options.

Delta operates with the likes of
United Continental Holdings Inc.

(
UAL

) and carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). However, sector stocks
Republic Airways Holdings Inc.

(
RJET

) and
Hawaiian Holdings Inc.

(
HA

) look attractive with a Zacks Rank #2
(Buy).   

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MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Authorities say a Delta airlines flight from Manchester, N.H., to Atlanta was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Boston over concern about an odor of fumes in the cabin.

Flight 1941 left Manchester-Boston Regional Airport at about 7:15 a.m. Friday.

Deputy Airport Director Brian O’Neil said a concern about an odor of fumes or possibly smoke caused the flight to be diverted to Logan Airport, where the plane landed safely. The Boeing-MD 88 can carry 142 people.

No one was hurt. It wasn’t immediately known what type of problem there was on the plane and whether it would continue on to Atlanta.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.