China Southern and Thales strengthen partnership with avionics selections onboard over 80 aircraft

• China Southern has been a long-term partner of Thales for almost 20 years, since the first selection of Thales terrain collision avoidance systems. The airline has also been partnering with Thales in the flight entertainment domain since 2008, and became the first global customer for the state-of-the-art AVANT system in 2012.
• The airline has selected Thales to supply avionics systems on its B737MAX and A320NEO.
• This selection further underscores the breadth of Thales support and services in Asia, notably in the buoyant Chinese market.

China Southern Airlines operates the third largest fleet in the world, with the most developed route network and largest passenger capacity of any airline in the People's Republic of China (source IATA). The airline operates more than 2,000 flights per day flying to 224 destinations in more than 40 countries and regions. The airline’s strategy has been focused on the state of the art avionics in order to boost efficiency in an ever congested sky and continuous improvement of passenger experience by deploying the most advanced inflight entertainment solutions on the market. To support their ambitions, the airline is putting its trust in Thales with several new contracts.

The airline has selected a package of avionics components on its newest 37 A320NEO, to include Thales FMS, the most advanced Flight Management System on the market. The fleet will also be equipped with the Thales Head Up Display (HUD) system.

On Boeing 737MAX fleet, the airline remains loyal to Thales Terrain Collision Avoidance System, which was first selected by China Southern in 2001. It will equip its newest 38 B737MAX plus 5 B737NG, supporting pilots in their critical decision thanks to reliable surveillance information. The Thales Inmarsat based on TopFlight Satcom and low-range radio altimeters (LRRA) will complement the avionics equipment of this new fleet.

With this contract Thales seals its position as a partner of confidence to China Southern, offering efficient solutions from cockpit to cabin.

 “This new selection showcases the strength of our relationships with China Southern, one of the most important Thales’ strategic partners in the world. Not only do we have a long history of collaboration with China Southern, we also were selected because of the performance and competitiveness of our products which are underpinned by the support service excellence we provide to increase airlines efficiency.”

Eric Huber, Vice President for Avionics Services Worldwide, Thales for Global