Thales has signed an agreement with Qatar Airways to equip the airline’s new A321 NX fleet with FlytEDGE, Thales’ Crystal Cabin award-winning in-flight entertainment (IFE) system.
Qatar Airways is the first airline to announce their selection of the innovative FlytEDGE system. This new agreement expands the collaboration to the airline’s A321 NX fleet and over the years, the carrier has partnered with Thales as its IFE provider to equip their Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, A350 and A380 aircraft.
FlytEDGE utilises cloud computing technologies, an open software platform and enables cutting-edge capabilities such as access to streaming platforms, live personalisation and gaming. The system is powered by the award-winning Onboard Data Center (ODC) with the industry’s first blade architecture and 96TB of storage to enable onboard edge caching and much more.
The FlytEDGE solution features cinematic 4K QLED HDR seatback displays to immerse passengers with over 1 billion vibrant colours and two Bluetooth® connections for passengers to pair their personal wireless devices. The system broadcasts the same user interface onboard for all devices- phones, tablets and seatback screens.
Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Product Development, Xia Cai said: “At Qatar Airways, we continue to enhance our world-leading passenger experience, and providing passengers with top-quality inflight entertainment forms a key part of this approach. As our digital transformation journey evolves, we are thrilled to partner with Thales to introduce FlytEDGE onto our entertainment platform. We are confident passengers on our A321 NX fleet will have access to the most innovative consumer technology in the skies.”
Thales Avionics, Executive Vice-President, Yannick Assouad said: “At Thales, we believe that the future of inflight entertainment is limitless. We are harnessing the power of technology to create personalized, interactive, and unforgettable experiences that redefine what it means to travel. Our partnership with Qatar Airways is growing stronger. Together, we’re bringing FlytEDGE’s advanced capabilities to their A321 NX fleet, ensuring passengers have unforgettable journeys.”
