Thales marries entertainment and connectivity with FlytEDGE
This is a special feature from PAX Tech's July 2024 issue, on page 43.

Thales’ FlytEDGE cloud-based IFE platform
Thales unveiled its IFE platform, FlytEDGE, at AIX this spring, designed to help airlines deliver an individually tailored experience to each passenger.
The system uses a connected cloud architecture to increase airlines’ flexibility to rapidly bring passengers any web-based service.
“This is the first cloud-based IFE system that's ever been enabled,” TK Kallenbach, CEO of Thales InFlyt Experience, tells PAX Tech. “And it's intended to be on a connected aircraft. It's really supposed to be a node on the network for the airlines.”
He emphasizes that FlytEDGE is not an update of a previous version; it is a new concept that puts the cloud to its intended use.
Edge caching plays a part in how the FlytEDGE system aids airlines in delivering a more seamless IFE experience to passengers. The platform features Thales’ Onboard Data Center (ODC) with 96 terabytes of storage to enable onboard edge caching, reducing connectivity consumption and ensuring available bandwidth for other inflight services.
Thales’ FlytEDGE solution features cinematic 4K QLED HDR seatback displays and two Bluetooth connections that enable passengers to engage with personal electronic devices. The system broadcasts the user interface onboard for all devices.
In terms of connectivity and inflight entertainment, Kallenbach says Thales marries knowledge of the two to deliver a more intuitive system to airlines.