Thales unveils FlytEDGE Aura and 360Stream updates
Thales unveils FlytEDGE cloud-native platform, FlytEDGE Aura
Thales has unveiled today at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) 2026 the latest iteration of its FlytEDGE cloud-native platform, FlytEDGE Aura.
Kurt Weidemeyer, Vice-President, Product Management for InFlyt Experience, Thales, unveils FlytEDGE Aura at AIX 2026
As Kurt Weidemeyer, Vice-President, Product Management for InFlyt Experience at Thales, tells PAX Tech, “We are extremely excited to introduce to the world Thales’ latest innovation for FlytEDGE: FlytEDGE Aura – the lightest, brightest and most powerful IFE solution on the market built for the demands of today and tomorrow.”
FlytEDGE takes flight
Weidemeyer recalls the launch of FlytEDGE at AIX 2024–a first-of-its-kind IFE platform, designed to help airlines deliver an experience that is individually tailored to each passenger.
“It was a hardware component, a blade-type server, very redundant, resilient, revolutionary in its own right. But the key was the software stack that we put on top,” he explains.
Thales built the software from the ground up, with the goal of providing an open platform that airlines could operate themselves, offering unmatched flexibility to quickly curate the digital experiences they want and the ability to easily integrate partners.
“FlytEDGE is slated to fly with Qatar Airways and Delta Air Lines this year,” he tells PAX, noting that much of the Thales booth at AIX 2026 will demonstrate several use cases that showcase the power of FlytEDGE to bring hyper-personalized experiences for passengers and elevate operational excellence for airlines.
But Thales’ big announcement at this year’s event is the unveiling of FlytEDGE Aura.
“We are introducing our next-generation IFE cabin system for the award-winning FlytEDGE platform,” Weidemeyer reveals.
He says this latest generation cabin solution, FlytEDGE Aura, includes new displays and seat box, equipped with up to 120W USB-C fast charging. The box provides 350 watts of power in a compact design. Paired with Thales’ advanced power-management technology, each seat box supports a quad-seat configuration to dynamically distribute power
According to Weidemeyer, FlytEDGE Aura is the lightest system in the industry, more than 30 percent lighter than the previous generation, with an optimized seatback architecture, contributing to the reduction of fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.
“We looked at every step of the architecture to make it more efficient and reduce weight,” he says. “We are delivering several industry-firsts with the lightest, brightest and most powerful IFE solution on the market.”
These firsts include unveiling the first Tandem OLED IFE display versus a single OLED technology. For the passenger, this means increased brightness with unmatched contrast ratio for true to life imagery. The Tandem OLED technology also provides superior durability.
Weidemeyer says, “Tandem OLED enables FlytEDGE Aura to deliver a brighter image with greater durability because there are multiple layers of organic LED material that can run at lower power. When combined, you can have a brighter solution, use less power while greatly reducing any chance of burn-in ensuring that the panel lasts longer. This is why we are excited to use Tandem OLED for our new displays.”
Beyond the visual aesthetic, Thales has designed FlytEDGE Aura to be modular, ensuring maintainability and longevity. The three-part modular display (smarts, port and screen modules) enables faster on-wing repairs and replacements, reducing maintenance time by up to 50 percent and lowering total cost of ownership for airlines.
“The processor is six times more powerful than our previous one, embedded at every seat to provide ultra-responsive navigation,” Weidemeyer explains.
The solution is built to handle the technologies of tomorrow; its timeless and modular design allows for straightforward upgrades to ensure that the fleet remains future-proof and always relevant.
“Whatever happens 10 years from now, we can ensure that FlytEDGE Aura will always be upgradable,” he adds.
Another industry first, FlytEDGE Aura offers passengers two Bluetooth 6.0 connections, enabling seamless device pairing and high-quality wireless audio.
360Stream updates at AIX 2026
In addition to showcasing FlytEDGE Aura at AIX 2026 this week, Thales will have a section of its booth dedicated to 360Stream innovations.
Launched at last year’s event in Hamburg, 360Stream brings live, event-based programming to IFE, delivering live sports, news and special events for passengers onboard. Thales’s Live TV is designed to work seamlessly with any IFE system, any connectivity provider and personal electronic devices.
The product is now flying on Emirates, delivering live and near-live, curated items for sports and news to passengers. Weidemeyer says that at this year’s expo, attendees can expect to see how Thales is making 360Stream more interactive.
“We are bringing in elements of sporting events where you can actually see statistics and pull up other areas of information,” he explains. “We are augmenting the feed and you can see the stats, the scores for other matches going on and predictive analytics.”
He adds that these new features to 360Stream are part of the mission to deliver an immersive on-the-ground viewing experience at 35,000 feet.
Thales is exhibiting at booth 4E40 at AIX in Hamburg, Germany, from April 14 to 16.
