Dubai based Emirates has selected the new Thales’ AVANT Up system for its incoming fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft , scheduled for delivery in 2024.
Thales SA also acknowledged Thursday that it has been awarded a contract by Emirates Airline for its in-flight entertainment system, for which Emirates said it has invested more than $350 million.
The airline’s investment will see its 50-strong fleet of A350s equipped with next-generation inflight entertainment solutions that offer a memorable cinematic and personalised passenger experience.
The French aerospace-industry supplier's Avant Up seatback display system will be installed in the Dubai-based carrier's new fleet of Airbus A350-900s, Thales said.
Adel al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said:
“Emirates has always regarded inflight entertainment as an essential aspect of our onboard experience, and we were in fact the first airline to put personal screens onto every single seat onboard when that was far from the norm over 30 years ago."
" Today, Emirates ice remains unmatched in inflight entertainment content and experience, having won best-in-the-sky awards consecutively for the past 14 years. Our investment in next-generation Thales systems for our new A350 fleet will further our lead, enabling us to deliver even better experiences to our customers. Watch this space.”
Yannick Assouad, Executive Vice-President, Thales Avionics said:
“At Thales we are proud to partner with Emirates in their mission to Fly Better. Thales’ AVANT Up brings to Emirates the latest consumer technologies and capabilities to the aircraft. Combining our Optiq 4K QLED HDR displays, award-winning dynamic power, and next generation digital services, Emirates customers can expect the extraordinary.”
The game-changing technology in Thales’ AVANT Up system features Optiq 4k QLED HDR displays - the only aircraft displays using Samsung’s QLED technology to immerse viewers in more than a billion colors.
This rich display capability provides the perfect medium for Emirates’ unmatched ice inflight entertainment product which delivers over 5,000 channels of multi-language content including live TV, the latest box office movies, TV shows and music hits, and the world’s first inflight shopping channel, EmiratesRED.
Emirates had placed an order for 50 of the A350-900 XWB aircraft worth $16 billion at list prices at the Dubai Airshow in 2019. Delivery was planned to start in May 2023 and run until 2028, but not , the deliveries might get pushed back to 2024.
The new system from Thales will also provide an enhanced ‘live’ television solution that offers a broader choice of live television and news in the highest available definition at 40,000 feet.
Emirates’ customers can also look forward to enhanced passenger connectivity with Optiq - the first smart display in the industry to offer two Bluetooth connections, built-in Wi-Fi for passengers to pair multiple devices including phones, tablets, headphones or even game controllers, while supporting up to 60 watts USB-C to fast-charge personal devices.
Emirates is also the first airline globally to select Thales’ Pulse, a patented power management technology which will ensure that charging performance will be unaffected no matter how many users are charging their devices at the same time.
