Flight Daily News

French company PGA Avionics has just completed development of its own audio/video-on-demand (AVOD) inflight entertainment system and holds orders for installations in three VIP aircraft. The first example will be delivered next month to Airbus Corporate Jet Centre in Toulouse, where one of the aircraft is receiving a luxury interior.

PGA started work on the system just 15 months ago. “It was a big leap forward for us,” says company president Jean-Francois Piaulet. “And it adds an important new piece to our overall product offering, which includes a cabin management system that can be used to operate the AVOD.”

The system centres on a server that can support up to 200 films or a thousand music CDs and distribute them to up to 20 users simultaneously. Extra servers can be added to the network, which is based on 1Gb Ethernet, to provide extra capacity as required. It can be controlled by the cabin staff via PGA’s own cabin management system (CMS) or through touchscreens installed in each seat.   

The company has supplied its CMS for installation in 20 VIP Airbuses, including three widebodies, 60 Dassault Falcons and a Boeing BBJ.

Other PGA Avionics IFE capabilities include integration of the CMS with satellite television systems such as Rockwell Collins’s Tailwind. “We started business 10 years ago, supplying switches for Falcon business jets,” says Piaulet. “Now we can offer a complete range of IFE for VIP aircraft operators.” 

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