Indian start-up airline Star Aviation has chosen the TopSeries i4500 lightweight audio/video-on-demand (AVOD) in-flight entertainment system from Thales for seven recently ordered Embraer 170 regional jets.
The E170s will be configured with a single cabin containing 76 seats, each with its own 8.9in screen.
Owned by the Dubai-based ETA Star Group, which has options on three more E170s and purchase rights to a further five aircraft from the Embraer range, Star Aviation will be based in Chennai in southern India. It will use the aircraft – to be delivered between next March and February 2010 – to operate regional routes on the Indian subcontinent, serving medium and low-density markets from next year.
Star Aviation is the third carrier to specify TopSeries i4500 for Embraers. In current service aboard the Embraer 175s and 190s operated by Air Canada, the system has also been selected by an unnamed carrier. A total of around 100 aircraft are equipped.
TopSeries i4500 was developed specifically for regional-jet applications by eliminating the underseat boxes that house power and processing capacity in conventional AVOD systems but which also deprive passengers of leg-room.
“The regional jet market is a new opportunity for us to provide a consistent passenger experience,” says Alan Pellegrini, general manager of the Thales IFE business. “We see a solid upward trend in the years ahead.”
Meantime, existing Thales customer AirAsia X of Malaysia has ordered TopSeries for 10 Airbus A330s in addition to the 15 already due to be equipped. First deliveries are scheduled for this October, with the programme to be completed by 2013. The aircraft will also feature the OnAir onboard mobile service, delivered via Inmarsat satellite avionics supplied by Thales.
Source: Flight International
