The fate of the Surface RT and Surface Pro, which caused Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer his job, would hopefully not be repeated in the newly launched Surface 2 tablet which is being tapped by a major air carrier.

Maximum PC reports that Delta Air Lines will ditch this year its paper flight kits made up of navigational charts and jet operating and reference manuals and replace it with 11,000 units of the Surface 2 that will serve as electronic paper bags in the cockpit.

To be powered by Windows 8.1, the tablet will give pilots access to navigational charts, reference documents and checklists that weighs 38 pounds. The shift from paper to tablet is expected to save the air carrier $13 million yearly in fuel and associated costs.

Since the OS will allow the tablet user to open two applications side-by-side such as weather information and proposed flight paths. Meanwhile, the Live Tile user interface would mean the pilots could feed latest information to crew members with detailed maps.

The change, however, is subject to the air carrier securing the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014, after which it would test the Surface 2 tables on Boeing 757 and 767 jets.

The device will also have 2 sections for company and personal use.

Other U.S. airlines such as American and United prefer Apple's iPad instead of Microsoft devices.

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