Thales is connected with new London "suite"

In-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) giant Thales has opened a new "Connectivity Suite" in London.

The brand new facility enables Thales to give a first hand experience of the latest airborne connectivity capabilities available from the manufacturer.

For example, Thales can demo its TopFlight satcom and TopConnect solutions, which provide Wi-Fi, VoIP, UMA, PBX and web browsing functions over Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband (SBB) aeronautical service.
 
The suite is designed to be interactive so users can try their own "connected devices" over the Wi-Fi & SBB link.

Word of the new Connectivity Suite comes as Air France has rolled out its new Airbus A380 with Thales IFE. Air France has not, however, elected to offer in-flight connectivity on its aircraft as yet.

Air France-KLM vice-president and general manager, USA Christine Ourmieres recently told me that the group's technology experts are studying what kind of solutions are available but have not made a decision.

Here's a key par from Thales on what Air France does offer on the A380: