Emirates Airline to Deploy 1,000 HP Tablets, Windows 8 App

Emirates, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, has developed of a line-of-business application for Windows 8 called "Knowledge Driven Inflight Service" (KIS). An in-flight communication and CRM device first introduced by Emirates in 2004, the KIS app will now run on the soon-to-be-launched HP ElitePad 900 business tablets and will enable the Emirates crew to improve productivity and increase level of service.

"At Emirates, we strive to deliver the world's best in-flight experience," said Kevin Griffiths, senior vice president, Cabin Crew at Emirates. "We constantly invest in the best aircraft, products and service. To support our crew, we have created an app 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."

Working Better
Pursers on the flight use the KIS application to brief the cabin crew before every flight and understand how to best meet the personal preferences and needs of passengers. The crew can also use the application to easily conduct in-flight upgrades to business class or first class for Emirates Skywards members, as well as customer feedback that is immediately routed to headquarters upon landing.

As one of the first global customer of the HP ElitePad 900, Emirates is creating a new KIS tablet that is light, attractive and has a long battery life, ideal for nonstop flights. The device, announced by HP in October and available to customers in January 2013, is built specifically for business users. Combined with Windows 8's touch-optimized user interface, which quickly shows the most important information via Live Tiles, the crew can spend more time interacting with customers in a unique and efficient way.

When deployment across its fleet is complete, Emirates will have 1,000 HP ElitePad 900 devices running the KIS application on Windows 8. More information on the KIS application running on Windows 8 is available at the Microsoft Showcase.

Emirates operates more than 2,500 flights per week to 126 destinations in 74 countries across six continents. The award-winning airline operates the largest fleet of A380s with 27, and the world's largest fleet of Boeing 777s.

The enterprise use of mobile devices to in flight is a growing trend, with American Airlines having recently selected Samsung and Apple devices for its crews.