SkyWest chooses the Surface 3 over iPad for 7,500 pilots

Microsoft’s Surface tablets have been focused on productivity for a while now. Businesses love the Surface devices, especially the Surface Pro 3 and the newer Surface 3. SkyWest is soon going to deploy 7,500 Surface 3 devices for its pilots. Microsoft states:

“SkyWest, Inc. is deploying Surface 3 to replace heavy paper-based flight kits containing navigational charts, and aircraft operating and reference manuals. SkyWest, Inc. committed to standardizing their Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) for ExpressJet and SkyWest pilots on Surface 3. At only 1.3lbs, Surface 3 can distill a heavy flight bag into a portable, powerful device while offering simplified management and security via Intune.”

Microsoft also revealed that the Surface 3 is now pre-qualified for FAA authorization:

“Surface is committed to the commercial aviation industry and we are continuing efforts to make it easier for commercial airlines to adopt Surface tablets.  We’re happy to announce today that Surface 3 has been pre-qualified for airlines to seek authorization from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for use as an EFB during all phases of flight. Through a rigorous evaluation process, Surface 3 has completed environmental and situational testing. Now, when airlines look to select the feature-rich Surface 3 for their EFB initiatives, deployment timelines will be significantly decreased, and the device itself may be used to its full computing potential, versus serving just as a simple document reader.”

Source: Microsoft