AirAsia Signs Thales to Supply Avionics Systems on its A320neo Fleet

21st Mar 2017

Malaysian low-budget airline AirAsia has selected Thales Group to supply avionics systems on its entire Airbus A320neo fleet. In addition, the contract also includes a Repair-by-the-Hour support agreement.

Thales will equip the Airbuses with the Flight Management System navigation solution. The THALES FMS system is based on “what you see is what you fly” (WYSIWYF) technology, which makes it stand apart from its competitors. As a result, the system holds around a 70% market share when it comes to new A320 and A330s.

In addition to the Flight Management System, THALES will also equip AirAsia’s A320neo fleet with the state-of-the-art THALES/ACSS T3CAS surveillance platform, Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) and Low Range Radio Altimeters (LRRA).

Speaking about the new deal made with the biggest LCC in Asia, vice president and general manager at Avionics Systems Worldwide, Thales Eric Huber said:

The Asian aviation market is one of the most competitive in the world. Carriers like AirAsia must strive to the highest levels of aircraft utilisation and efficiency in order to succeed. As a result, they require an avionics components developer and MRO network they can trust to deliver to the highest standards and with near perfect reliability. It is therefore a point of particular pride that Thales is chosen time and time again by AirAsia.

AirAsia has been partners with Thales since 2005 and the two companies have established a strong relationship, which helped the Malaysian carrier support its growth strategy. The airline’s entire Airbus fleet is equipped with Thales systems.

About Thales

Thales is a global technology leader in the aerospace, transport, defence and security markets. It has 64,000 employees in 56 countries, including 25,000 researchers and engineers. In 2016, the company reported $16.09 billion sales. Thales was able to do this thanks to its proficiency to design and deploy systems and equipment that can meet the most complex industry requirement standards. Apart from this, its Repair-by-the Hour and Avionics-by-the-Hour programs allow Thales’ customers like AirAsia to significantly lower their maintenance expenses and component cost of ownership.