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Air Canada to upgrade A320 fleet avionics
April 12, 2024 By Wings Staff
Joshua Vanderveen, VP-Maintenance, Air Canada, and Christine Aguilar, Head of Customer Services for Airbus, celebrate the new avionics upgrade for up to 76 Air Canada aircraft at MRO Americas in Chicago. (Photo: Airbus) Airbus at MRO Americas in Chicago signed an agreement with Air Canada for what it describes as a major cockpit and avionics system upgrade package for the airline’s A320 Family of in-service aircraft. The multi-year upgrade program includes Enhanced Electronic Instrument System (EEIS2), Head Up Display (HUD) and many other avionics functions built by Thales and other suppliers, but integrated by Airbus. The upgrades will be installed on up to 76 aircraft.
“These key enhancements to the avionics on our Airbus A320 family will result in a modernized flight deck environment consistent with our other fleets, as well as additional capabilities comparable to the latest generation of aircraft, such as the A321XLR that Air Canada will be introducing to its fleet,” said Murray Strom, Senior Vice President, Flight Operations and Maintenance at Air Canada.
“HUDs on the A320 family will further increase fleet harmonization across all our aircraft types, and the EEIS2 displays presenting enhanced data will bring additional operational efficiencies and reliability,” added Strom.
Airbus explains the HUD upgrade will improve situational awareness and bring better airport accessibility in the event of bad weather conditions. EEIS2 displays offer much higher reliability, explains Airbus, and enable new function displays with high resolution LCD screens and features. Airbus notes the upgrades to the SBAS Landing System (SLS), FMS Landing System (FLS) and GBAS Landing System (GLS) will also contribute to faster and greater airport accessibility.
The Airbus A320 cockpit at night. (Photo: Airbus, JB Accariez)
In addition to these new system capabilities, Airbus explains the upgrade program will maximize fleet commonality with newer aircraft and enable cost rationalization for maintenance, spares and flight operations.
‘’With this combination of improvements, Air Canada is getting ahead of the requirements and latest standards available on the market”, says Cristina Aguilar, SVP Customer Services at Airbus. ‘’We are thankful to Air Canada for their trust in Airbus with this significant A320 fleet upgrades agreement.”
