British Airways Trials AlloSky VR Headsets from SkyLights

British Airways customers will be transported to their own 3D cinema in the skies as the airline exclusively trials a new virtual reality headset in a UK first.

From now until the end of 2019, customers traveling on select flights in First from London Heathrow to New York JFK will be able to enjoy a selection of award-winning films, documentaries and travel programs in 2D, 3D or 360° formats.

The headsets from VR eyewear specialists, SkyLights, allow customers to fully immerse themselves in 3D view regardless of the position they are sat in. The experience even works when they are lying fully flat.

British Airways is the first UK airline to trial the technology and has worked with experts to select a range of therapeutic programs, including guided meditation and sound therapy, specifically designed for customers who have a fear of flying.

Sajida Ismail, Head of Inflight Product at British Airways, said: “We are always looking at the latest technology to enhance our customers’ experience on the ground and in the air. Virtual reality has the power to revolutionize in-flight entertainment and we’re really excited to trial these new glasses as they should create a unique and memorable journey for our First customers”.

The AlloSky virtual reality headsets are designed by SkyLights, a former alumni of British Airways’ parent company IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator program.

Earlier this year, British Airways trialed the technology at Heathrow Terminal 5, giving customers a glimpse of the Club World cabin through virtual reality.

2019 is British Airways’ centenary year. The airline has launched BA 2119: Flight of the Future, a first-of-its-kind exhibition at Saatchi Gallery throughout August, British Airways’ birthday month. The exhibition, in collaboration with the Royal College of Art, is based on global research commissioned by British Airways to identify what aviation could look like in the future. It is also showcasing Fly, a virtual reality experience tracing humankind’s relationship to flying from the earliest imaginings of Leonardo da Vinci and his ornithopter, to the Wright Brothers’ success on Kitty Hawk and the first passenger flight to Paris. Users can also experience Concorde, the brand new A350 and the imagined flight of future.

British Airways is investing £6.5 billion for its customers over five years, including the installation of the best quality Wi-Fi and power in every aircraft seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline has introduced its Club Suite, a new business class seat with direct aisle access. British Airways is also hosting a range of activities and events throughout the year to explore the future of sustainable aviation fuels and the aviation careers of the future.

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Inmarsat

Inmarsat, a global mobile satellite communications, announced that DSNA, France’s Air Navigation Services Provider (ANSP), has signed an agreement to join a consortium of European ANSPs supporting the modernization of air traffic management (ATM) over Europe through the Iris program. DSNA is the latest partner to join the ground-breaking Iris program to improve air traffic management across Europe’s congested airspace.

In partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), Inmarsat is leading the Iris program to deliver significant benefits to airlines and ANSPs across Europe by enabling secure, high-bandwidth, satellite-based datalink communications.

The program reinforces Inmarsat’s position as a major driving force behind technological innovation in mobile satellite communications and aviation connectivity; leadership that is sustained through substantial on-going investment and a powerful network of technology and manufacturing partners.

The aim of Iris is to deploy digital controller-pilot communications to modernize air traffic management across Europe’s congested airspace and to relieve existing congested radio frequencies. ANSPs will be able to rely on Iris’ certified, efficient and reliable datalink to increase ATM efficiency, relieve air traffic controller workload and enhance flight safety.

Iris is also designed to enable ‘4D’ trajectories, pinpointing an aircraft in four dimensions: latitude, longitude, altitude and time, which is one of the major concepts defined in the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) modernization program. This will enable precise tracking of flights and more efficient management of traffic by allowing pilots and controllers to collaborate on flight trajectories and calculate the shortest available routes, cruise at optimum altitudes, and use continuous climb and descent pathways to reduce delays, save fuel and address environmental factors.

DSNA joins five major European ANSPs already involved with implementing Iris. This includes  DFS (Germany), ENAIRE (Spain), ENAV (Italy), EUROCONTROL MUAC (North-West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and NATS (UK). These ANSPs handle the majority of European air traffic and are participating in an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) pilot with Inmarsat and ESA.

As part of their involvement in the Iris program, DSNA will capture performance data from pilot flight demonstrations, which is critical as they operate in one of Europe’s the largest and busiest sections of airspace. In addition, their participation better prepares DSNA for the program’s continued rollout and commercial service introduction.

The latest agreement is a significant further milestone for the Iris program.  It follows the announcement in March that Iris had entered its commercial implementation phase after the successful conclusion of an extensive five-year research program. Full commercial service is scheduled to begin in the 2021-2022 time-frame.

Iris is powered by Inmarsat’s award-winning SB-S digital aircraft operations platform, using its world’s leading L-band satellite constellation, which has underpinned global safety services for 40 years. Inmarsat is scheduled to launch two new, advanced L-band payloads to join its award-winning fleet in 2020 and 2021, further cementing the company’s long-term commitment to the highly reliable services it offers over this spectrum.

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Boeing

Boeing delivered the first of eight 787-10 Dreamliner airplanes to Vietnam Airlines via lease from Air Lease Corporation. The Vietnamese flag carrier plans to put the 787-10 – the most fuel-efficient twin-aisle airplane in the industry – on the busiest routes in its expanding network.

The new 787-10 will complement Vietnam Airlines’ existing fleet of 787-9 jets. Both feature the Dreamliner’s ultra-efficient technology and passenger-pleasing comforts. The 787-10 is longer than the 787-9, providing the space to carry 40 more passengers and more cargo and helping it offer the lowest operating costs per seat of any twin-aisle jet in service today. Vietnam Airlines is outfitting its 787-10 models with 367 seats (24 in business class and 343 in economy class). In addition to its size and fuel efficiency, the 787-10 can cover long distances. With a published range of 6,430 nautical miles (11,910 km), the 787-10 can fly more than 95 percent of the world’s twin-aisle routes.

With the delivery to Vietnam Airlines, the 787-10 continues to expand its global presence. More than 30 of this Dreamliner model have been delivered to six operators since the airplane entered commercial service last year. Airlines are deploying the 787-10 around the world, especially in Asia as it is home to more than half of all 787-10 destinations.

To optimize the performance of its 787 fleet, Vietnam Airlines uses Boeing Global Services solutions such as Airplane Health Management (AHM) to capture real-time flight data and enable predictive maintenance. AHM is powered by Boeing AnalytX, a collection of software and consulting services that transform raw data into greater efficiency during every phase of flight.

On another note, the FAA is adopting an airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Company Model 737-8 and 737-9 airplanes. This AD requires a maintenance records check to determine if any main slat track assembly has been removed, an inspection of the main slat track assemblies for a suspect lot number or a lot number that cannot be determined, and applicable on-condition actions. This AD was prompted by a report that certain main slat track assemblies were manufactured incorrectly and are affected by hydrogen embrittlement. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

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Aircraft Interiors Expo, Hamburg | April 15, 2015– The new dedicated Airline Services Interiors business, one of three distinct divisions under a new streamlined structure announced by Airline Services Ltd this week at Aircraft Interiors Expo (Hall 6 Stand B78), has been awarded a contract to integrate a new In-Flight Entertainment system on 18 Boeing 747 aircraft operated by British Airways.

Airline Services Interiors is responsible for the design, certification and manufacture of the modification kits to integrate the new IFE system on all classes of passenger seating from World Traveller (economy) though to First Class. It is working with IFE provider Panasonic and aircraft integrator, Zodiac NAT, to fit Panasonic’s next generation eX3 IFE system, which will be installed from September 2015. The lightweight design of the system helps to save fuel, while offering customers over 1500 hours of entertainment programming on larger, hi-resolution screens featuring tablet style touch and swipe controls.

As part of the upgrade, Airline Services Interiors has also integrated new universal power sockets at every seat in World Traveller Plus (premium economy) together with individual USB sockets to allow customers to power their phones and tablets.

The cabin interiors of the British Airways 747s are also being refreshed so they match those on the airline’s new A380 and 787 aircraft and Airline Services Interiors has developed new fitted seat covers to improve comfort and appearance.

Headed by Managing Director Martin Barnes, Airline Services Interiors’ portfolio comprises three market focused capabilities -Through Life Services, Engineered Products and Managed Solutions, which is responsible for the British Airways IFE upgrade.

Managed Solutions brings together Airline Services Interiors’ in-house design, manufacturing and turnkey modification with its EASA Part 21G design and manufacturing production capability. This enables it to deliver customised solutions for airlines to redesign, refurbish or upgrade their cabin interiors seating and IFE.

Trial integration and First Article seat build is being carried out at Airline Services Interiors Passenger Seating Centre of Excellence, which is co-located with the design and manufacturing teams in Manchester, UK. Certification of the three seat types is complete with First Article Inspection of the seat modification design phase nearing completion. Airline Services Interiors will support the seat modification programme by British Airways Interiors Engineering at its facility in Blackwood, Wales where the first aircraft is due to be refurbished by British Airways in Summer 2015.

Lake Forest, CA | September 18, 2014– Panasonic Avionics Corporation’ (Panasonic), today unveiled the features of the eX3 system selected by British Airways as part of a cabin refresh for 18 of its B747 aircraft.

“British Airways is world renowned for its in-cabin experience, and we are very excited to have been selected for their B747 retrofit. The airline’s team needed an extremely reliable, ultra-lightweight system that offered an incredible passenger experience — and our eX3 solution delivers on all fronts.” said Paul Margis, President and CEO of Panasonic Avionics. “Our X series design philosophy gives British Airways the flexibility to enhance the features and functionality as their cabin strategy evolves.”

At launch, Panasonic’s eX3 system will immerse British Airways customers into an entertainment experience that includes excellent picture quality with brighter colors, a larger color palette, wider viewing angles, and best-in-class contrast ratios. The monitors also feature quad-core processing power to support over a terabyte of British Airways content, eye-popping animations in the passenger user interface, and support for the widest possible range of applications.

The eX3 platform is also designed to protect an airline’s investment in IFE.  Its flexible platform will support future enhancements to British Airways’ in-flight experience.  The monitors have been designed with enough processing power to support all of today’s applications as well as future, resource-heavy applications that will be introduced over the next several years. The system is also ready to support broadband enabled applications, real-time advertising, personalization, and other services.

eX3 also offers the lowest possible total cost of ownership with an ultra-lightweight design that is less than five pounds per seat, high reliability with features such as solid state disk drives, network redundancy, and local storage at each seat.

Margis added, “With unmatched performance, and an unrivaled features set, eX3 offers the best price to performance curve available in our industry today.”

• Industry initiative to study noise reduction procedures

Farnborough, UK | July 16, 2014– Airbus, British Airways (BA), Heathrow Airport (LHR) and NATS (the main air navigation
service provider in the United Kingdom) have launched a unique partnership to study and develop operational procedures to reduce the number of people affected by noise around London’s Heathrow. The study will use British Airways’ A380. The A380 is recognised as one of the quietest aircraft today.

This project utilises the capabilities of the A380, the quietest aircraft of its size, and looks at how the aircraft manufacturer, airline, airport and air navigation services provider can further reduce the noise impact of flight operations for local communities. Airbus ProSky, the Air Traffic Management (ATM) subsidiary of Airbus is in charge of designing the departure and arrival procedures based on NATS, LHR and BA recommendations.

The four cross-industry partners have announced a three-stage ‘Quieter Flight’ project.

· The first stage identifies the operational improvements that are possible. These include for departures for example, reducing thrust and optimising the height at which the aircraft is flown. Changes to these departure procedures have the potential to significantly reduce noise levels.

· The second stage will see the testing and training of procedures in a British Airways flight simulator.

· Once all the project stages are complete, the partners expect to bring all the operational improvements together into a series of demonstration flights with the A380, starting from early next year. These procedures will then be made available to other operators and airports around the world.

Airbus’ executive Vice President, Customer affairs, Christopher Buckley said: “the A380 is the ideal aircraft to conduct the “Quieter flights” because it has the latest state of the art technologies that allow optimised paths to be flown very precisely. The A380 is able to further reduce the noise of what is already the quietest aircraft of its type. Together with Airbus ProSky, we are honored to be a key player in this unique industry project that addresses a real issue worldwide.

British Airways’ environment strategy manager, Captain Dean Plumb said: “The A380 is the ideal aircraft for this project as it has unique operational capabilities that can be adjusted to reduce noise during take-off and landing. The next step for the Quieter Flight Partnership is to train our pilots to use the optimised noise procedures in the simulator and then to test these improvements in flight trials.”

Matt Gorman, Sustainability Director for Heathrow said “We are really pleased to be working closely with industry partners on this project. Heathrow is at the forefront of international efforts to tackle aircraft noise and collaborations such as this form part of our long term commitment to do this whilst also safeguarding the connectivity and growth that Heathrow provides.”

Ian Jopson, NATS Head of Environmental and Community Affairs, added: “Air traffic management has a vital role to play in tackling the impact of aircraft noise and NATS has an excellent track record of working with the rest of the aviation industry and community groups on this important issue. The Quieter Flight project, brings together the expertise of the whole industry, and when combined with the wide range of other initiatives we are working on, will help make a difference to those people living under the flightpath.”

• Aircraft are intended for operation by British Airways

Farnborough | July 14, 2014 International Airlines Group (IAG) has converted 20 A320neo options into a firm order for the world’s most popular single aisle aircraft Family. These aircraft are currently intended to replace 21 shorthaul British Airways’ aircraft.

British Airways already operates 120 Airbus single aisle aircraft covering the full Family range from the smallest A318 to the largest A321.

“IAG’s’ selection of the A320neo Family for its single aisle fleet is a significant win for Airbus. It is with great pride that one of our biggest and most influential customers recognise the superior operating economics and passenger appeal of the A320neo Family,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “This order strengthens the A320neo Family as the single aisle aircraft of choice for the world’s leading airlines.”

The market leading A320 Family has the widest cabin of any single aisle aircraft for added passenger comfort and the neo adds productivity, 15 percent fuel savings and up to 950km added range.

The order by IAG sustains several thousand aviation jobs throughout the UK, where the wings are designed and assembled. It also contributes some £40million to the UK economy.

In August 2013, IAG announced that, as part of a Vueling order for up to 120 Airbus A320 family aircraft, it had also secured 100 A320neo options.

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 10,500 orders to date and over 6,100 aircraft delivered. Thanks to its widest cabin, all members of the A320 Family offer the industry’s best level of comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18” wide seats in economy as standard.

To date, firm orders for the NEO have reached over 2,800 aircraft representing a 60 per cent share market share in its category.

London, UK | November 22, 2013– Longstanding Bluebox Avionics customer British Airways and its French subsidiary OpenSkies have chosen to upgrade their iPad passenger entertainment offer on participating transatlantic flights.

Both airlines opted to enhance the IFE experience for passengers with a new purpose-designed Content Carousel user interface for their secure iPad solution Bluebox Ai.

Content Carousel delivers a more engaging and intuitive navigation experience for users, and greater flexibility for depth of content and filtering options. It also makes best use of iOS gestures functionality, recognizing that business travellers today are savvy tech users who expect smart and elegant solutions from any device they interact with.

BA deploys Bluebox iPads aboard A318 aircraft on its Club World London City service, offering all-seat business class flights between London and JFK. Similarly, OpenSkies, the premium airline connecting Paris to New York, provides each passenger with a Bluebox iPad for IFE.

“The new Content Carousel GUI provided an excellent opportunity for us to enhance the look and feel of the iPad deployment”, says Bluebox Project Manager Kevin Birchmore. “The upgrade went in with ease and we’re really pleased with how it looks.”

“We were really impressed with the look and feel of the new Bluebox GUI; it was an easy decision to move forward with the upgrade. Our passengers will now benefit from a more intuitive user interface, coupled with a tailored selection of programmes to fit our ‘Paris-Yorkers’ clients’ expectations as we’ve also just enhanced our entertainment offer”, adds Karin Drylie, Marketing & Product Manager at OpenSkies.

Irivine, CA and Neuilly-Sur-Seine, France | July 25, 2013– Thales, leader in in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) systems is providing the in-flight entertainment systems on British Airways’ eagerly awaited Airbus A380 and Boeing 787.

The airline took delivery into the UK of its first two 787s last month, followed by its first A380 on 4 July. In 2008 British Airways agreed on a deal to purchase the Thales TopSeries In-Flight Entertainment System for its new delivery and next generation aircraft.

These new aircraft feature the TopSeries System, an award winning in-flight entertainment product that offers passengers the ultimate in-flight experience. From the comfort of their own seat passengers will be able to enjoy the latest films, catch up with the latest TV programmes, keep up-to date with breaking news, play games, listen to music, radio, podcasts and much more. Passengers can also keep up-to-date with their journey using Thales’ advanced 3D moving map application that includes a full featured globe with satellite imagery and full-motion 3D view of the aircraft. Arrival and flight connections information is also available.

The aircraft will be maintained from the Thales London Heathrow maintenance hub, which today already provides a service to 31 aircraft in the British Airways fleet.

“Thales is looking forward to more passengers being able to experience in-flight entertainment products and services fitting of the new state-of-the art aircraft. We are excited to be a part of this important milestone for British Airways and welcome the additional aircraft to our maintenance and service hub, over the next four years” said Andrew Musgrave, Thales Vice President, In-Flight Entertainment UK and Ireland.

A Look at Media Ventures, LLC, based in Lexington, Kentucky, will soon be offering “destination-specific” programming for airline passengers traveling to major cities around the world.

Fred Mullins, founder and CEO of A Look At Media Ventures, LLC, announced that the company has reached a distribution agreement with British Airways.

“We are thrilled that one of the worldʼs leading airlines has chosen our product for their in-flight entertainment platform because they feel this product will entertain their passengers en route to major cities around the world and enable them to engage with the city before they even land,” Mullins said. “We believe the time is perfect for content that is entirely destination-specific, as many travelers are not familiar with the larger cities of the world. We can help make trips more enjoyable.”

British Airways TV and Ambient Manager Hannah Shire said A Look At Media Ventures offers content that is relevant and interesting.

“British Airways passengers traveling for business or leisure have the potential to be empowered by knowledge of their destinations available within these video guides,” Shire said. “This may help them on their current journey or educate them for any future travel plans.”

A Look At Media Ventures, a new member of APEX, first exposed its concept at the industry conference in Long Beach in September. Response from the airlines has A Look at Media Ventures buckling up and ready to take off.

“So many involved in the airline industry have faith in the product, said Lee Casey, a past board member of APEX and vice president of Customer Programs with Lumexis, a major vendor for the airline industry. “Mr. Mullins, has been involved with the travel/tourism industry for many years, publishing the hardcover guidebooks found in major cities across the U.S. He understands better than anyone the value for all parties, and we are anxious to see this concept become a global product that all airlines will embrace in the immediate future. Itʼs win-win for passengers, airlines and advertisers.”

– Sales Audit and Revenue Recover services contract extended for three years

Barcelona, Mumbai & New Jersey | August 23, 2012– Accelya, the leading solutions provider to the airline and travel industries, today announced that British Airways extended its partnership contract with Accelya for Sales Audit and Revenue Recovery services.

British Airways has decided to continue their partnership with Accelya in providing Sales Audit and Revenue Recovery services. The new contract, which takes effect in October 2012, will continue the long standing relationship between British Airways and Accelya for a further three years.

“We are pleased to be extending our co-operation with Accelya” said John Hagan, British Airways Passenger Revenue Accounting Manager. “We have experienced a robust, accurate and reliable service with Accelya over the years. It gives British Airways security that our pricing policies are being enforced and means we can focus on our core activities”.

Speaking on the occasion Artur Farinha, Sales Audit Business Manager, said “We are delighted to extend our partnership with British Airways. The extension underlines the consistent value that we bring to airlines. Direct improvement in profitability by covering revenue leakage sources and diligent customer service are the cornerstones of our service. This has enabled us to become one of the largest providers of sales audit and revenue recovery service to the airline industry.”

Accelya is the leading provider of Audit & Revenue Recovery Services to airlines. Accelya’s audit services span across the ticket lifecycle from original booking through to the completion of the journey. This is supported by comprehensive recovery services — from raising of ADMs to fund collection. Accelya brings a host of unique strengths to its services: broad and maximised leakage detection, ADM accuracy, talented teams and account managers, best practices, advanced technology and innovation. Through proprietary platform, skilled staff and best practices, Accelya ensures maximised recovery and minimised errors. Accelya helps airlines identify over $180 million in revenue leakages annually.

Brea, CA (September 29, 2009)— British Airways recently announced that its new Club World London City service to New York’s JFK beginning today will be equipped with portable media players from The IMS Company, providing inflight entertainment to the all 32 of the Business Class-only passengers onboard two A318 aircraft. IMS continues to be the premier provider of portable IFE solutions to the world’s major airlines, says Harry Gray, vice president sales and marketing for IMS.

The IMS portable media players are integrated into a brand new business class seat. This type of seat installation allows the passenger a hands-free operation and full use of the tray table for meal and beverage services. The PAV705’s sleek styling, small and compact size, as well as low weight allows for a simple, cost effective and elegant semi-embedded seat installation benefiting the airline and their passengers.

Several airlines are now using IMS portable media players in a semi-embedded configuration, allowing for the PMPs to be installed in a seat arm or seatback installation. IMS has worked with airlines and various seat manufactures providing a variety of innovative and effective designs to incorporate our players into the seats in both single and twin aisle aircraft, as well as economy class seats.

At WAEA, IMS will have examples of its semi-embedded installations for our portable media players, as well as some new concepts. Gray invites airlines to visit booth 1325 at WAEA for a closer look.

Founded in 1996, The IMS Company is an entertainment and communications solutions provider in the travel industry and a systems and software solutions provider to the aerospace industry and the military. Organized into three business units, IMS serves more than twenty commercial airlines with portable entertainment, wireless communications, and content management services via IMS Entertainment. Via IMS Engineering, the company provides advanced systems and software engineering support in the development and deployment of the latest in inflight entertainment, cabin avionics, and media distribution systems, as well as engineering services and software development services to unmanned vehicles and software-defined radios. The recent acquisition of Flight Deck Resources resulted in the creation of a third unit, IMS Flight Deck, which provides Electronic Flight Bag and other solutions for the flight deck. IMS has expanded into the provisioning of content services and hardware solutions for business aviation, rental car, rail passenger, and related markets reaching the traveling public. In 2008, IMS was named the 14th fastest-growing privately-held company in technology-heavy Orange County, California by the Orange County Business Journal, up from the 24th fastest-growing in the 2007 survey.

For more information see: www.imsco-us.com.

About The IMS Company:

Founded in 1996, The IMS Company is an entertainment and communications solutions provider in the travel industry serving planes, trains and automobiles. The Entertainment Group has a focus on portable entertainment, wireless communications, and content management services, while the Engineering Group focuses on systems and software development. Historically, the company’s core business is the provision of advanced systems and software engineering support to aerospace companies in the development and deployment of the latest in inflight entertainment, cabin avionics, and media distribution systems. IMS has expanded into the provisioning of content services and hardware solutions for business aviation, rental car, rail passenger, and related markets reaching the traveling public. In 2007, IMS was named the 24th fastest-growing privately-held company in technology-heavy Orange County, California by the Orange County Business Journal. See: www.imsco-us.com.

Aircraft Interiors, Hamburg 31 March 2009 – Thales, a leader in In-Flight Entertainment systems, is pleased to announce that British Airways has decided to purchase additional TopSeries systems for a retrofit installation on eighteen Boeing 777 aircraft. This order comes after an earlier announcement when Thales and British Airways agreed to a multimillion pound deal that will put the Thales’s TopSeries In-Flight Entertainment system on the airlines new delivery and next generation aircraft. The selection for these existing B777 aircraft provides all passengers a consistent travel experience in line with the new aircraft orders.

With bigger, clearer LCD screens, the TopSeries system will give passengers access to more than 100 movies, 300 programmes and 400 CDs as well as a range of radio programmes and podcasts whenever they want. The system will also include a range of interactive and multiplayer games as well as several e-learning applications, which will allow passengers to enjoy a web-like experience from their seat. Other features include:

• Enhanced wide screen sizes
• USB and RCA jack ports at each seat throughout the cabin for personal electronic device (PED) connection and charging
• In-seat laptop power plugs throughout the cabin
• Noise cancelling headsets in all premium class seats
• New 3-D interactive moving map applications in all cabins

“Thales is very pleased that British Airways has elected to extend the scope of our endeavor,” said Mark Barclay, Vice President and Managing Director at Thales UK’s aerospace business said: “The airline will take delivery of its first aircraft with the TopSeries installed in 2010.”

Thales’s IFE Systems

Thales entered the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) business in the late 90s and today employs 700 + dedicated professionals with decades of IFE experience. Its IFE headquarter office is located in California with regional offices in France, China and Singapore. Thales is the fastest growing IFE supplier with over 1,000 aircraft commitments in just 5 years. Thales offers a comprehensive in-flight entertainment solution covering four main areas:

• TopSeries Inflight Entertainment Systems
• TopConnect Suite of Connectivity Solutions
• TopEffects Digital Media and Services
• TopServices Global Service and Support

For more information about Thales’s In-Flight Entertainment Systems visit www.thales-ifs.com .

About Thales

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing Aerospace and Space, Defence and Security markets worldwide. The Group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,500 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. The Group builds its growth on its unique multidomestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2008 revenues of €12.7 billion.