prod_surface2_WebFirst, Delta equipped 19,000 flight attendants with Windows Phones. Now, the pilots are getting in on the Microsoft fun.

Paul Thurrott at WindowsITPro reports that Delta will hand out the new Surface 2 tablet to all of its pilots, instead of Nokia’s unreleased Sirius tablet as originally planned.

Currently, Delta pilots are allowed to bring their own iPads, but now Delta wants them to transition to the Surface 2. The plan is for every Delta cockpit to have a Surface 2 within two years and be paperless.

Delta’s move to Microsoft products is a nice win for the Redmond software giant, especially since the iPad is largely the tablet of choice for the airline industry. Earlier this week, Boeing announced that it would offer a suite of iPad apps to assist airline technicians in diagnosing maintenance issues.

Update, Sept. 30: Microsoft and Delta officially announced the deal on Monday, confirming last week’s report. All of Delta’s 11,000 pilots will be using the Surface 2 in the cockpit by 2014, saving $13 million per year in fuel and other costs in the process.

For more information, here are posts from Microsoft and Delta.

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