Qatar Airways and Thales open new tech centre

Above: Speakers at the official opening of a new research centre in Doha by Thales, a French company that provides inflight entertainment solutions to Qatar Airways. From left to right are: Thales Inflight Entertainment & Connectivity CEO Alan Pellegrini; Qatar Foundation Research Advisor Dr Amir Al Saadi; Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker; France’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency Jean-Christophe Peaucelle; and Thales Senior Vice-President Blaise Jaeger.

The new centre has been established by Thales in collaboration with Qatar Airways under the official name, Thales QSTP-LLC.  In the first phase of development, a Joint Innovation and Technology Project will be established to further develop inflight entertainment (IFE) solutions for Qatar’s national carrier in the heart of the airline’s hub.

Thales, which already has an office in Qatar, has been creating new generation IFE solutions since 2009 for Qatar Airways’ narrow body fleet of Airbus A320s. The systems include touch-screen technology, with seat-back screens in Economy and arm rest screens in Business Class.

The French company will also provide revolutionary new in-flight entertainment and communication systems for the airline’s Boeing 787 aircraft, of which the first of 60 on order is scheduled for delivery this summer. Qatar Airways is the Middle East launch customer of the Boeing 787.

Addressing guests at the official opening of the new Thales Centre today, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that the airline was at the forefront of developing pioneering products for its passengers and that in-flight entertainment was no exception.

“Qatar Airways always works closely with its partners to take innovation to new levels for the benefit of its valued customers,” he said.

“We are delighted to see Thales choose to open this new training centre here in Qatar helping to further strengthen the already strong partnership that exists between the two companies.

“The new centre will ensure that the development and implementation needs of Qatar Airways will be met quicker with improved timelines for content updates on our aircraft.”

Added Al Baker: “IFE today plays a crucial role in a passenger’s decision making process when choosing which airline to fly with. 15 years ago IFE played a very small part of an airline’s product offering.

“Today, it is a crucial element in the entire package of services offered by airlines to passengers. Qatar Airways has understood the importance of entertainment, hence our inflight offerings have tripled from over 300 interactive audio and video options seven years ago to more than 1,000 today.”

Thales In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Systems CEO, Alan Pellegrini said: “This grand opening in Doha symbolises our deep commitment to Qatar Airways and I am confident that the collective experience and talent of our organisations will play a significant part in the future of onboard systems and services.”

In 2010 and 2011, Qatar Airways and Thales received industry awards for the revolutionary Touch Passenger Media Unit (TouchPMU), a handheld media device that out performs all in-seat handheld inflight entertainment technologies.