Airbus has chosen Thales to supply the flight management system for its entire A320, A330, and A350 families starting in 2026, Thales said Thursday. Based on the PureFlyt product and adapted to meet the requirements set by Airbus, the new fully connected FMS will process and share what Thales calls vast amounts of data to optimize flight operations, enhance interoperability, and reduce environmental impact through optimized flight paths.
The FMS acts as the “brain” of the aircraft, used to prepare flights, calculate and provide the crew with the information they need, set flight parameters, and ensure aircraft guidance based on fuel efficiency factors and instructions from air traffic control. Thales notes that the system maximizes the benefits of access to open-world data, including real-time weather information. By linking the new FMS with non-avionics systems—such as the pilot’s electronic flight bag and airline operational control centers—the system speeds and eases the task of analyzing flight plan revisions, providing the pilot with the best route and simplifying interaction with air traffic control. As a result, it will help to ease airport congestion, cut fuel consumption, decrease noise pollution, and reduce pilot workload, according to the company.
PureFlyt draws on 40 years of experience in flight management systems and more than 100 million flight hours with Thales’s current generation of FMSs and includes navigation and performance databases for precise calculation of optimal flight paths and flight times. Airbus’s choice of a system compatible with all its aircraft will aid fleet interoperability for airlines and make it easier for pilots to transition from one Airbus aircraft type to another, notes Thales. The company also will make the system available as a retrofit option for aircraft currently in service.