On the opening day of the APEX show in Portland, Oregon, Thales InFlyt Experience announces that SriLankan Airlines has become the first airline in the world to fly the Thales AVANT In-flight entertainment and connectivity system with an application delivering Live News & Weather.

The carrier's A330-300 fleet will all feature this capability enabled through the Thales AVANT IFE solution. Currently, there are four aircraft in-service with the final fleet delivery expected by the end of 2015.

SriLankan Airlines' passengers are currently able to stay connected to the world with the latest news headlines and weather information. Live content from BBC News, AFP and AccuWeather is displayed on the passenger in-seat monitor with on demand access. Live News & Weather engages the passenger with news articles complete with full images plus 5-day weather forecasts for 50 selected cities.

SriLankan Airlines, Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rakhita Jayawardena said, 'Our new A330 aircraft is designed every way to suit the needs of the modern-day traveler. With this full featured aircraft, we are aiming to provide a greater customer experience. Last year, SriLankan's new A330 fleet became the launch customer for the latest Thales Avant in-flight entertainment system. Today, we are marking another first with Thales, by offering Thales Avant Live News and Weather.'

News and weather feeds are transmitted to the aircraft via satcom during flight to provide rich, timely content, enriching the passenger experience by enabling passengers to Stay in touch with world events during flight.

AVANT, our state-of-the-art Android In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity solution features a highly customizable passenger experience with the latest applications on the market. It is available to all advanced, single and twin aisle Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and has already been selected by many worldwide airlines.

More than 300,000,000 passengers a year across 75 partner airlines use Thales InFlyt Experience solutions, making Thales a leading provider of IFE and connectivity solutions in the world.

  • First airline to offer Thales AVANT Live News & Weather.
  • Passengers can now stay connected with live news and weather updates.
  • Content provided by BBC News, AFP and AccuWeather.

About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets. With 61,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €13 billion in 2014. With over 20,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its unique international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world.

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