Thales has been selected by AirAsia for the equipment of avionics systems on their new fleet of 304 A320neos. The contract will also include a long-term Repair-By-The-Hour support agreement. Deliveries of the aircraft started in October 2016.
Thales will equip the 304 single-aisles with its market leading Flight Management System (FMS)1, the navigation solution of choice for Airbus aircraft, alongside the THALES/ACSS T3CAS2 surveillance platform. The Thales FMS has several key differentiators to competitors’ systems, such as the “what you see is what you fly” technology and temporary flight plan capability. The new fleet will also feature Low Range Radio Altimeter (LRRA) and Emergency Location Transmitters (ELT).
Thales has been partnering with AirAsia since 2005, forging a close relationship in support of the airline’s growth strategy. AirAsia already equips their entire Airbus fleet with Thales systems and has selected the group for all maintenance and support operations for Thales systems equipped across their entire A320 fleet of 200 aircraft. In addition to the avionics suite, Thales will continue to provide a Repair-by-The-Hour (RBTH) long-term maintenance contract to support AirAsia’s fleet expansion. The agreement provides guaranteed turnaround times on repairs and offers a commitment of reliability with reduced operational risk.