AIME: Turkish Airlines selects Thales Avant for narrowbodies

The European manufacturer announced at the Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) show in Dubai this morning, that the system will be placed on board 25 of its A321 and 20 of its B737 aircraft.

The Avant system is easily equipped on all advanced, single and twin aisle Airbus and Boeing aircraft and its eliminates the electronics box under each cabin seat which improves passenger comfort and drives weight efficiency, both key drivers for the single aisle segment.

The system’s scalable design allows Turkish to offer differentiation between classes such as single touchscreen in economy and interactive multi-screen in business. It is also based on the Android operating system, which can accommodate a wide range of both off-the-shelf and airline specific applications.

Thales said that a further element of the selection was its global service and support network which would ensure optimal system performance especially in fast turnaround situations, for the Turkish flag carrier.

Turkish Airlines’ CEO, Temel Kotil said: "We are trying to offer our passengers the best examples of Turkish hospitality while onboard. We are aware that the inflight services are the significant components for the satisfaction of our passengers and we continue to raise the bar. We are continuing to work on meeting the expectations of our passengers by constantly innovating to delight and surprise our guests as in this innovation. And with this new in-flight entertainment system we are convinced that we will bring an added value to the comfort of our passengers. All of these changes display the desire of Turkish Airlines to provide an unmatched travel experience.”

Turkish Airlines and Thales have also agreed to a 10 year service agreement for the provision of media content. The airline will start taking delivery of its A321 fleet in March 2015 and its B737 aircraft in January 2016.