9 June 2006 - Thales announced that its TopSeries inflight entertainment system will soon enter revenue service on Air China’s new aircraft. In 2005, the airline committed to the line-fit installation of the Thales TopSeries system on twenty A330-200 aircraft. The deliveries are on schedule with the first delivery completed in June 2006. A second and third aircraft will enter revenue service in June and July and the balance of installations will continue through October 2008.

Air China will have six aircraft configured for domestic flying with 283 total seats. On these aircraft, 12 seats are business class where passengers can enjoy audio and video on demand entertainment on 10.4” display screens. In economy, overhead video and distributed audio are available. The other fourteen aircraft will be configured for international travel with a total of 251 seats all equipped with on-demand functionality. “We are very pleased with the development of this program to date. Looking forward for a great relationship for future delivery and support.” said Program office of Air China. Air China is the first airline to fly with the TopSeries system on an A330 aircraft.

Air China elected to have an original, customized passenger menu screen for on-demand functionality. This design was created and implemented by Thales’ Digital Media Group. Thales will play an instrumental role in the content management requirements for Air China’s aircraft. In addition, Air China will be receiving a reconfiguration tool that will allow the airline to select specific IFE functionalities that can be directed to specific seat groups. “We are very excited to be working with Air China on their A330 program, and we are confident that our services will effectively support the airline’s operation for years to come”, said Brad Foreman, Vice President and General Manager of Thales’ inflight entertainment business.