HP and Emirates Airlines announced today that HP’s new Windows 8 tablet, the ElitePad 900, has been chosed at the “primary interface” for the airline’s flight crews. As part of Emirates’ new Knowledge-driven Inflight Service (KIS), the tablets will be used to facilitate in-flight communications and also function as part of the customer relationship management system. HP stated that Emirates flight crews will be able to “work more efficiently” and “deliver personalized service” using the devices.

“Emirates constantly seeks ways to enhance our customers’ experience,” said Kevin Griffiths, senior vice president of Cabin Crew at Emirates. “We selected the HP ElitePad 900 to power KIS because of its sleek design and light weight, which allows our staff to provide the highest levels of service to our customers, whilst maintaining the ruggedness and security measures needed from an Enterprise class device.”

HP made it clear that Emirates is now the first global customer of the ElitePad 900, which was announced back in October and is currently scheduled to launch sometime in January. The device is a Windows 8 tablet aimed at business and government customers.

“For its advanced KIS concierge service, Emirates Airlines needed an enterprise-grade tablet,” said James Mouton, general manager of the Personal Computer Global Business Unit at HP. “In the HP ElitePad, it found a compact, powerful and stylish business tool ideally suited to meet the needs of its staff and customers, both on the ground and at 40,000 feet.”

This year, airlines have been looking to implement touch device technology on flights and the FAA has been reviewing the rules on how such devices can be used during flights. American Airlines announced in September that it had chosen Samsung’s Galaxy Note to function as a customer service device, and Apple’s iPad was recently cleared to take the place of bulky paper manuals in American Airlines Pilot flight bags.

(Image courtesy wikimedia and omeyamapyonta)