Why Air India inked 10-year deal with aerospace giant Thales
What's the story
Air India has signed a 10-year deal with French aerospace and defense giant Thales. The agreement is part of the airline's fleet modernization efforts and covers maintenance for in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems under the FlytCARE program. The deal will offer turnkey maintenance services, including line maintenance, spares, repairs, and logistics support for Thales's IFE systems on 57 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
Installation
Retrofits on existing aircraft and new deliveries
The Thales IFE systems will be retrofitted on existing Boeing 777 and 787-8 aircraft, as well as fitted on new 787-9 and A350 planes in the next two years. The services under this agreement will be offered from Thales facilities at Delhi and Mumbai airports. This is aimed at improving turnaround time and system reliability for Air India.
Contract provisions
Support for state-of-the-art AVANT Up iFE system
The contract also covers support for 12 new widebody aircraft fitted with Thales's AVANT Up IFE system. This state-of-the-art system comes with 4K HDR touchscreens, the fast charging ports, and Bluetooth connectivity. Notably, Air India is the first airline in the Asia-Pacific region to install this advanced system on its planes.
Strategic alliance
Enhancing passenger experience and engineering capabilities
The partnership with Thales is expected to bolster Air India's engineering capabilities while enhancing the overall passenger experience. The airline said that this move would help in improving customer satisfaction levels. On its part, Thales described the agreement as an extension of its long-standing relationship with Air India, further strengthening their collaboration in the aviation industry.