Building the Future of Inclusive Flying with Suite of Accessibility Solutions

According to the World Health Organization, about 28 percent of the global population has low vision or blindness. Thales believes inclusion and accessibility are important, we aim to transform travel experiences for all.

Recognizing the challenges faced by passengers with visual impairments in navigating inflight entertainment (IFE) screens, Thales developed a comprehensive suite of accessibility solutions. We collaborated with leading accessibility organizations, including The American Printing House for the Blind (APH), to understand the needs of those affected by vision loss.

Our collaboration involved a series of in-depth interviews with APH staff and individuals who have experienced vision loss, delving into their challenges and insights. Our goal was to create an innovative user interface (UI) that empowers these passengers, making IFE enjoyable and accessible.

We held sessions with subject-matter experts to gather valuable input on daily digital tool usage, comfort with existing accessibility technology, and pain points with inflight entertainment. We asked many questions like, “What devices or digital tools do you use daily?” and “How comfortable are you with current accessibility tools or technologies?” Key findings included the need for a quick tutorial on touch gestures and the effectiveness of voice-guided menus and sound cues.

From mock-up to developing a new system
From these insights, we developed several mock-ups of the IFE accessibility UI, conducting usability interviews that led to evolutions of the original prototype.

Development progressed over months, guided by invaluable feedback. After refining our prototype, we invited a customer and two original subject-matter experts who are blind or low vision to Thales' lab for critical usability testing, which proved essential for fine-tuning the design.

Thales suite of accessibility solutions wins Crystal Cabin Award
Thales’ suite of accessibility solutions received the prestigious Crystal Cabin Award for Best Customer Journey Experience, the leading prize for cabin innovations at the 2024 APEX/IFSA Awards Ceremony in Long Beach, California. The award makes Thales a four-time consecutive winner of the Crystal Cabin Award.

"We're thrilled to receive our fourth Crystal Cabin Award in a row. All of us at Thales are extremely proud of this milestone. It is a recognition of our commitment to innovation and our ambition to create a more inclusive and enjoyable inflight entertainment experience for all. We welcome everybody to the future of inclusive flying."
- Tudy Bedou, chief technology officer at Thales Inflyt Experience

The suite of accessibility solutions has received praise for an intuitive structure and gesture controls that mirror how individuals with visual impairments use their devices. Additionally, our innovative Signing Avatar, designed for hard of hearing or deaf passengers, set a new industry standard for signing in multiple languages and is fully customizable. The avatar operates in conjunction with Closed Captions, enhancing cabin notifications and providing translations for video-on-demand content.

Already work is underway for the next development rounds, with a robust roadmap of future improvements and features. Upgrades include a gesture to turn on accessibility features independent from crew facilitation. The accessibility UI is already flying with two global airlines as this article publishes. Yet we aim to go further, as we are now working with partners and airlines to create a more comprehensive suite of solutions serving the needs of passengers to make the IFE system even more inclusive.

See the accessibility UI in action

Click to watch an overview of features