• Partnership announced today at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2016

Hamburg, Germany | April 5, 2016– Saudi Arabian Airlines has selected Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s (Panasonic) innovative eXO system for its fleet of 30 Airbus A320 aircraft on order.

At the 2016 Aircraft Interiors Expo, the carrier confirmed its commitment to Panasonic’s latest generation full HD inflight entertainment experience with the first aircraft due to be delivered in November 2016.

eXO is Panasonic’s innovative overhead solution available today with Panasonic’s new 12-inch 1080p retractable overhead monitors, near audio-on-demand and wireless support for passenger device streaming and interaction with the IFE System. It is designed for maximum flexibility and supports a wide variety of AVOD configurations including overhead video, wireless IFE, full AVOD and hybrid, cabin class-specific systems.

Paul Margis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, says: “Not all IFEC systems are created equal. Our unrelenting focus on our customer’s unique needs ensures that eXO delivers unmatched flexibility at a very competitive price point. Even for an overhead system, the right technology can make a huge difference in how passengers experience an airline. With eXO, Saudi Arabian Airlines benefits from the ultimate combination of efficiency, performance and reliability to create a premium entertainment experience throughout the aircraft.”

eXO delivers the ability to mix and match cabin configurations based on an aircraft’s mission profile, the airline’s brand strategy, and the desired class configurations. It uses the same backbone as other X Series systems, enabling Saudi Arabian Airlines to launch a hybrid installation with audio/video-on-demand in the premium cabin and overhead video in the economy cabin.

Business Class passengers will enjoy individual 13.3-inch Elite full HD monitors and Video Touch Screen Handsets with a broad choice of on-demand content available through Panasonic’s IFE system. The screens are designed with enough processing power to display the content of both today and tomorrow, as well as the resource-heavy applications that will be introduced over the coming years.

Economy Class passengers will enjoy entertainment on large full HD retractable overhead screens that provide a home theatre experience throughout the cabin.

Director General of SAUDIA Eng. Saleh Aljasser said, “We needed a solution that was incredibly flexible and delivered a true HD cinema experience. The ability to configure a unique entertainment experience in each cabin class is what made eXO an easy decision for our airline. Our guests can now look forward to a unique entertainment experience in every class.”

For more information on Panasonic’s eXO solution, visit the company’s website

Adds 20 A330-300 Regional and 30 A320ceo to fast growing fleet
Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, France | June 15, 2015– Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia will become the first airline in the world to operate the new Airbus A330-300 Regional.

These popular fuel-efficient Airbus widebody and single-aisle aircraft will join Saudi Arabian Airlines’ existing Airbus fleet of twelve A330-300s and 50 A320 Family.

Passenger demand in Saudi Arabia is experiencing high growth both on domestic and regional routes. The new A330-300 Regional variant, specially designed for regional and domestic operations, is Airbus’ solution for markets with large populations and fast growing, concentrated air traffic flows. The A330-300 Regional is set to boost capacity on several of Saudi Arabian Airlines most in-demand routes, enabling the airline to better serve the Saudi Arabian and regional travelling public.

Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Director General Saudi Arabian Airlines, said: “The A330-300 Regional’s unique flexibility, high capacity and operational capabilities will enable us to expand our domestic and regional network and better absorb growing passenger traffic. Introducing the A330-300 Regional in our current fleet is an ideal choice and follows our previous commitment to a family of aircraft which already successfully helped us achieve our ambitions,” he added.

“We salute Saudi Arabian Airlines for becoming the launch operator of the A330-300 Regional. We see a significant market opportunity for this exceptional aircraft, which is part of Airbus best-selling widebody Family. The A330 features a unique combination of unbeatable economics and fuel efficiency. Undoubtedly the A330-300 Regional will support Saudi Arabian Airlines to expand

its network in the region in the most efficient way by offering increased capacity and world-class comfort,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

The A330-300 Regional is optimized to seat up to 400 passengers in Airbus’ best in class 18 inch wide economy seat comfort on missions up to 3,000 nm and offers significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tonnes. The reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs will result in an overall cost reduction by up to 26% compared with the today’s long-range A330-300. In addition, the A330 Regional benefits from the latest A350 XWB and A380 technologies.

In addition to the A330-300 Regional, Saudi Arabian Airlines has also chosen to grow its A320 Family fleet with more of the world’s most flexible, productive and comfortable single aisle aircraft on the market.

The A320 Family

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 11,700 orders to date and more than 6,500 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.

The A330 Family

Being member of the Airbus leading widebody family, and reflecting the market’s continued demand for high efficiency, comfort and reliability, the A330 Family has won more than 1,500 firm orders from over 100 customers worldwide and has more than 1,100 aircraft in operation.

– APEX 2012 EXPO – Long Beach, CA | September 17, 2012–Thales, leader in In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) systems, is delighted to announce that Saudia Airlines has signed a new IFEC agreement to install the TopSeries system on a total of 54 aircraft. This is a major step forward for both Thales and Saudia that introduces the award winning TopSeries AVANT® system, TopConnect suite of Connectivity and brand new TopSeries AVATM adding wireless content streaming to the airline’s future aircraft. TopSeries AVANT® is an Android® based, next generation system which combines the strengths of earlier platforms with advanced technologies, such as high definition video, solid state drives and faster processors, to deliver an enhanced passenger experience never seen before.

This latest arrangement between Thales and Saudia covers A320, A330, B777 and 787 fleets. In addition, the airline is soon to deploy a new passenger interface that affords exceptional performance, new capabilities and stunning visuals. The coordination and mutual commitment this project entails makes Thales one of the airlines’ key strategic partners in a long-term transformation project. Since its start in 1945, Saudia Airlines has received many industry awards and is recognized as a favorite local and international carrier, and recently became the newest and first Middle East member of the Skyteam Alliance.

MR. Tarik Sindi, Vice President Marketing and Product Management of Saudia Airlines commented: “Passengers across the region are fast becoming extremely discerning and demand ever evolved the levels of service excellence and technology offering from their in- cabin experience. Our goal is to truly take our place amongst the new breed of major global carriers for passenger satisfaction and customer service. This project is designed to achieve that aim with our choice partner Thales who will provide our passengers with the best in-flight entertainment system available in the skies.”

Commenting on this very significant project, Alan Pellegrini Chief Executive Officer of the Thales In-flight Entertainment business said: “In-flight entertainment systems can have a direct and lasting impact on passenger perceptions of an airline’s service excellence, and carriers such as Saudia are now leading the world in designing and deploying the very best cabin experience. This is a bold and ambitious project, and we are very proud of the confidence placed in our systems and people by such an important customer as Saudia.”