Air India and many other airline professionals have been seen on the floor at the Airline Interiors Expo. It is no big deal because the entire industry converges there to meet their current and prospective suppliers in one place. Deal announcements are low, but they happen.
Air India selects Panasonic Avionics IFE for the following 34 widebody aircraft.
Air India’s current narrowbody fleet has no seatback IFE, except for the 10 A321Neos that the airline took in as a part of the Vistara merger with itself. With the (ex) Vistara 787-9s and the A321neos, the airline uses the Panasonic X Series IFE on these aircraft and also Panasonic’s in-flight connectivity service. The new A350-900s use the eX3 platform from Panasonic.
Air India’s 777 and 787-8 aircraft currently use an ancient generation of Thales IFE. Air India confirmed the Thales AVANT Up IFE for these upgrades on all 40 of those and 11 new A350 and 787 aircraft in 2024. Panasonic Avionics announced that Air India had selected their Astrova platform for the next set of aircraft they will be receiving.
Air India will see Astrova line fit on 34 new widebody aircraft currently on order: six Airbus A350-1000s, 14 A350-900s and 14 Boeing 787-9s. These will start shipping on aircraft in the second half of 2026.
Astrova features inherent modularity, sharp 4K OLED screens, HDR10+ displays with accurate colour reproduction, infinite contrast ratios and perfect blacks, and USB-C charging connections that provide a guaranteed 67 watts of charging output and the ability to flex up to 100 watts of power. High-fidelity sound with Spatial Audio will also be delivered to any wired headset or the passengers’ wireless headphones using Panasonic Avionics’ Bluetooth technology.
The advanced features of the Astrova IFE solution also include LED lighting designed to enhance the passenger experience by adjusting the cabin ambience for optimal comfort.
Panasonic Astrova IFE System
Qatar Airways will bring Astrova to its Boeing 777X fleet. SAUDIA is retrofitting 30 widebodies, a mixture of A330s and 777s, with Astrova. United Airlines will install Astrova on select new Boeing 787 and Airbus A321XLR aircraft beginning in 2025. Qantas has selected Astrova for Project Sunrise equipment. IcelandAir became the first carrier to fly the Astrova in December 2024. Overall, there are over 70 commitments for the Panasonic Astrova IFE with the provider so far.
L to R: Ankur Sethin, Head of Commercial – Special Projects, Air India, Abhijit Menon, Air India, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, Hernan Abbes, Vice President of Global Sales, Panasonic Avionics, Satyen Yadav, Chief Technology Officer, Panasonic Avionics, Ken Sain, Chief Executive Officer, Panasonic Avionics, and Aziz Koseni, Regional Director of Sales, EMEA, Panasonic Avionics.
Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India said on the occasion,
We are happy to continue our relationship with Panasonic Avionics which will contribute to elevating the travel experience of our passengers. The integration of the Astrova IFE solution and cutting-edge digital services on some of our aircraft marks an exciting step forward in redefining our inflight offerings for years to come.
Hernan Abbes, Vice President of Global Sales at Panasonic Avionics, said,
We are honored that Air India has chosen to continue their collaboration with Panasonic Avionics as we support their ambitious digital transformation journey. Our Astrova IFE solution is designed to provide an immersive and unparalleled inflight experience for their passengers, while redefining the ownership experience with its modular design, enabling Air India to fully embrace digitalization, develop bespoke interactive features, and achieve significant operational cost savings.
Bottomline
Air India has selected the Panasonic Astrova IFE system for 34 widebody aircraft to be delivered to them, including the A350 and 787 line. This signifies an extension of the Panasonic and Air India/ Vistara association, which currently exists on the A321neos, the A350s and the 787-9s of the airline.
What do you think of the new IFE selection by Air India?
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