Windows 8 tablets 'haven't reached quality of iPads,' says Air France CIO

Jean-Christophe Lalanne tells Computing that while Air France is keen to look at Microsoft Windows 8, the airline doesn't yet consider it a major player in the tablet market

Microsoft tablet devices such as Surface Pro could be useful for the enterprise in future, but for now, the iPad is still a better device.

That's according to Jean-Christophe Lalanne, CIO of Air France and group CIO of Air France-KLM, who expressed his preference for Apple's iPad during an interview with Computing at the 2013 Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels.

"We think that for the existing applications that are running on Windows 7, it could be interesting to think about refurbishing them for Windows 8," he said, explaining how compatibility with existing systems would be the key driver.

"It should be easy with the adaptable design mode to use with tablets, but at the same time using the tablets as if they were classical desktops. So the new platform where the screen becomes the tablet [Surface], could be very interesting for us," he said.

"I think that for the staff - not for the pilots, not for the cabin crew - but for the rest of the users, we should absolutely study the use of Windows 8 tablets," Lalanne added.

However, despite the praise for Windows tablets, Lalanne still considers Apple's iPad to be the superior tablet when compared with Microsoft's Windows 8 devices.

"But the difficulty we have today is that we don't consider Windows 8 to be major enough. We think they have not reached the level and quality of iPads," he said.

Lalanne's opinion is at odds with that of easyJet CIO Trever Didcock, who told Computing that devices such as Surface Pro are the way forward.

"With tablets, everyone was initially saying you must use an iPad, because it was far the most advanced tablet. But Windows 8 devices are good now. In fact, my preference would be to standardise on a Windows 8 device rather than an iPad," he said.