Etihad selects Thales HUD for its new Airbus A350XWB



09/11/2015

During the Dubai Air Show, Thales announces the selection by Etihad of its dual configuration Head Up Displays for the first 12 aircraft of its new Airbus A350XWB fleet scheduled to be delivered from December 2017 by Airbus.



Key points

• Thales will equip the first 12 A350XWB aircraft of Etihad’s fleet with a dual-configuration HUD.
• HUDs are becoming a crucial optional component. The dual-configuration benefits to pilot/copilot situational awareness and efficiency.
• Thales is HUD supplier of choice on Airbus and strengthens an already global footprint with second dual HUD contract signed over the past several months.

During the Dubai Air Show, Thales announces the selection by Etihad of its dual configuration Head Up Displays for the first 12 aircraft of its new Airbus A350XWB fleet scheduled to be delivered from December 2017 by Airbus.

A total of 62 A350XWBs have been ordered by Etihad.

The dual-configuration (pilot/copilot) HUD is a newer development to the more traditional, pilot only HUD configuration. It is gaining traction in the commercial market as it improves situational awareness and efficiency of both pilot and copilot, by giving them the same level of eyes-out instrument visibility during critical phases of the flight, especially in low visibility and adverse weather conditions, thus improving safety.

The group already equips single configuration HUDs on Qatar Airways A380s. This is the first dual-configuration HUD in the Middle East, which strengthens Thales’s already strong position in the Middle East for this segment. It also closely follows the announcement in September, of the first ever contract for a dual-configuration system the group signed, with China Southern Airlines for their entire fleet of 30 Airbus A320s.

“We have placed considerable efforts in making our HUD the most perfectly tailored system to the needs of pilots. The growth of our footprint worldwide and the choice by Etihad, one of the world’s most successful airlines to deploy a dual-configuration across its newest fleet, is a proof of success of this system, and of the benefits it brings to pilots.”

Daniel Malka, Thales Vice President, General Manager for Avionics Services Worldwide activities.

The interest by many global airlines to equip their newest aircraft with a HUD configuration is growing at an unprecedented pace. With most new build long-haul aircraft coming off assembly lines equipped with a HUD, Civil Aviation Authorities such as the Chinese CAAC, have made a basic single-configuration HUD, mandatory on all aircraft they register. Thales is amongst the world’s leading HUD developers and has been selected as the supplier of choice for HUDs on all Airbus aircraft.