Boeing Co. said Friday that it will recommend buyers of its 787 Dreamliner airplane use an inflight entertainment system made by Thales in Irvine.
Thales, a Paris-based company, will provide a wireless network to deliver audio and video entertainment to Dreamliner passengers. Boeing’s 787s are in development and set to be launched in 2008.
Thales’ inflight devices work with broadband Internet systems developed by Connexion by Boeing in Irvine. Connexion provides broadband access to the Internet for passengers during flights.
As part of the Boeing agreement, Thales will open a engineering laboratory in California to support system testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if the lab would be in Irvine though Thales has been expanding its local operations.
Earlier this year, Thales moved from a 100,000-square-foot building in Costa Mesa to a 130,000-square-foot building in Irvine on Discovery. The company has said it is looking for another 40,000 square feet of space in another building.
The company also has said it aims to have more than 800 workers by the end of next year, up from 500 now. At the end of 2004, the inflight entertainment unit had just 235 people here.
Thales’ wireless networking products are considered cutting-edge in the inflight entertainment industry.
“We clearly identified many tangible benefits of a wireless system,” said Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s 787 program. “Customers will be more comfortable as we are eliminating much of the equipment that typically is housed under their seats. In addition, we are saving weight and cost.”
