South American carrier LAN Airlines recently began testing a new in-flight connectivity system from Thales on an Airbus A320.
The system, TopSeries AVA, is being flight tested on an Airbus A320. According to Thales, the system allows passengers to connect their own portable electronic devices to the Thales TopSeries head-end server through wireless access points within the aircraft cabin.
LAN is currently flying the system on domestic and regional routes as part of a six month trial. Thales obtained FAA certification for the TopSeries system in May, and is looking to use LAN’s flight trials as part of a large-scale movement of content from Thales IFEC California operation to LAN’s hub in Santiago, Chile.
“This enables for the first time a content load to be delivered end-to-end without the need for physical touch or intervention,” said Dominique Giannoni, CEO of Thales.
Both companies are looking to use passenger surveys to gauge the popularity of the new system.