Celebrating Ethiopian Airlines delivery of the first A350-1000 in Africa equipped with Thales AVANT Up IFE

Ethiopian Airlines and Thales celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first A350-1000 aircraft, which is also the first in Africa to be equipped with Thales’s state-of-the-art AVANT Up inflight entertainment system. This ushers a new era of inflight entertainment for Ethiopian Airlines' valued passengers. Thales’ enduring partnership with Ethiopian Airlines spans over a decade. With Thales’ AVANT Up, Ethiopian is bringing the latest consumer technologies and capabilities to its A350-1000 aircraft that will elevate and transform the airline’s passenger journey. 

AVANT UP features Optiq 4K QLED HDR displays designed to provide an immersive viewing experience in the air, with an unrivalled picture quality and more than one billion vibrant colors. Passengers will navigate across the rich catalog of entertainment using Thales’s intuitive User Interface. Only display with two Bluetooth connections and built-in Wi-Fi, Optiq will allow passengers to pair their devices to the display while also charging their phones and laptops with Thales’s award-winning Pulse power management solution, guaranteeing passengers arrive at their destination entertained, fully charged and relaxed.

The system provides a wide range of digital services and applications that enable Ethiopian to uniquely configure and continually take its passengers’ onboard experience to new heights.

Mesfin Tasew, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines Group commented: “Keeping our legacy as a pioneer in aviation technology in Africa, we are more than pleased to have our A350-1000, the first of its kind in Africa equipped with Thales’s AVANT Up Inflight Entertainment (IFE) system, which also marks a first in the global aviation industry. Achieving these two milestones at once doubled our pleasure and we look forward to more collaborations with Thales InFlyt Experience.” 

Niels Steenstrup, Chief Executive Officer, Thales InFlyt Experience said: "At Thales, we are proud of our long-term partnership with Ethiopian and are delighted to have our AVANT Up system flying on the first A350-1000 in Africa. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the airline and create new opportunities to bring exceptional experiences to Ethiopian and its passengers.”