Air India to equip aircraft with Thales’s Avant Up inflight entertainment

Air India to fit Thales in-flight entertainment on jets.

Air India has announced that it will equip 51 of its airliners with Thales’s Avant Up inflight entertainment (IFE) system. Under an agreement announced recently, 40 existing Boeing 777s and 787s, as well as 11 new-production 787s and Airbus A350s, will receive the new equipment in their cabins.

Avant Up features Thales’s Optiq QLED smart displays with cinematic 4K HDR picture quality and in-screen USB-A and USB-C high-speed charging ports for personal electronic devices. The Optiq system allows passengers to pair their wireless headphones to the system, which offers a pair of Bluetooth connections and built-in Wi-Fi.

The upgrades and retrofits to the in-service Air India aircraft will start this year. In 2025, Thales will provide the Avant Up IFE for the new airliners yet to be delivered by Boeing and Airbus.

Avant Up gives operators the option to integrate multiple services and applications, such as 3D maps and immersive route-based programs. According to Thales, it designed the user interface to make it easy for passengers to quickly navigate multiple entertainment options.

“Air India is committed to providing a world-class travel experience to its passengers. Partnering with Thales for its top-of-the-class AVANT Up inflight entertainment systems is a step in the direction of our transformation programme. This latest inflight entertainment technology will allow us to stay at the forefront of aviation technology and will help us provide our passengers with a unique onboard entertainment system,” Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Air India, said.