Thales has announced that its AVANT inflight entertainment solution has been selected by Emirates for its future fleet of Boeing 777X aircraft. The announcement was made on the opening day of the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) EXPO in Singapore.

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has 150 Boeing 777X aircraft on order and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2020. Thales will be the first to equip its inflight entertainment systems on the B777X platform.

Thales says the contract is the result of the group’s commitment to strengthen its presence in Dubai and that it will also accelerate job creation in the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

In support of Emirates’ long-term ambitions, Thales will establish Discovery Dubai – a custom innovations centre for the passenger experience – in the United Arab Emirates.  Managed by Thales, the center will enable Emirates teams to develop and shape their future passenger engagement initiatives and programmes in the air and on the ground. Thales will also be setting up a repair centre to provide operational support and services to Emirates.