The good efforts of Microsoft over building a robust environment with Windows 8 seems to have brought them many takers, with Emirates being the latest one. During the Windows 8 launch event in Dubai, Emirates announced that it would equip its cabin crew with HP ElitePad 900 tablet devices running Windows 8 in a move seen as helpful for the crew members to serve the needs of the passengers in a much better way.
Emirates has developed a Windows 8 app called Knowledge Driven Inflight Service (KIS) and shall deploy it along with 1,000 HP ElitePad 900 devices across its fleet. This is a great shot in the arm for Microsoft since usually it’s the iPad which finds its way into cockpits and in the hands of the cabin crew. But the luxury airline chose the HP tablet running Windows 8 because it’s thin and light, optimized for Windows 8, built specifically for business users and does not need to be recharged on long-haul flights.
The KIS app will allow flight pursers to brief the cabin crew before every flight, conduct in-flight upgrades to business class or first class, enquire about customer feedback, manage details around previous trips, deal with issues a passenger had during their travels etc.
“At Emirates, we strive to deliver the world’s best in-flight experience. We constantly invest in the best aircraft, products and service. To support our crew, we have created an application on Windows 8 that delivers a unique, personalized experience with the necessary information for our cabin crew to better serve the needs of customers. The Windows 8 platform running on HP ElitePad 900 devices gave us this option, allowing us to create the KIS app that enables our crew to offer an experience not available on other airlines.” – Kevin Griffiths, senior vice president, Cabin Crew – Emirates
Emirates will roll out hundred devices by the end of January 2013 and a thousand devices in total next year. This implies that by the end of 2013, a purser will be using HP ElitePad 900 running Windows 8 with the KIS app on every single Emirates flight.
