26 April, 2015 – Asia’s largest airline, China Southern Airlines, is to be the launch customer for Panasonic Avionics’ eXO overhead in-flight entertainment system, for its new narrow-bodied fleet of Airbus A320s and A321s being delivered from early in 2016.
The new fleet being equipped will initially consist of 54 aircraft, with an option of a further 50 as the airline expands. For the new fleet, the eXO system will deliver overhead retract screens in full 1080p High Definition (HD), clear digital audio, and in-seat high power USB charging for tablets and smart phones.
The offering includes availability of Near Audio On Demand, a provision unique to Panasonic, which lets passengers skip or repeat audio tracks with the press of a button on the capacitive touch passenger control units (PCU). The eXO system can also support wireless media to passenger PEDs and even seatback AVOD, all from a single 4MCU server unit.