Malaysia Airlines selects Thales for SATCOM Connectivity

16 July 2010

Thales announced that Malaysia Airlines will install the Thales TopFlight SATCOM (TFS) on their new order of Boeing B737’s.

Malaysia Airlines Senior General Manager, Managing Director's Office, Muzzaffar Othman said, “The Thales TopFlight SATCOM programme will complement our incoming fleet of B737-800, which is scheduled to arrive starting October this year. The TFS will provide the hardware and communications software that connects the aircraft cockpit and cabin to the ground. This will enable safety services in the cockpit. We never compromised on safety and with Thales’ expertise in this area, we are looking forward to work closely with them to provide better service to our passengers”.

Peter Hitchcock, head of Thales UK’s avionics business, says: “This is another landmark achievement for the Thales TopFlight SATCOM programme. The Malaysia Airlines TFS will be the first Swiftbroadband system to be installed and fully integrated on the B737.”

The TopFlight SATCOM establishes a new level of performance: this new ARINC 781 standard of SATCOM continues to support Inmarsat aero-services for flight deck voice and data connectivity. In addition, for airlines that have the Thales In Flight Entertainment system, the TopFlight SATCOM enables data throughput to the passenger seat for Internet connection.

Thales TopFlight SATCOM is available as a line fit option on B737, B777 passenger and freighter aircraft and is capable of supporting standalone cockpit or integrated cockpit and cabin solutions.