Last month Southwest Airlines announced plans to install in-seat power on its 737 MAX fleet. Now we know that Astronics will provide its EMPOWER solution to the carrier.
We’re excited our newest system architecture hit the mark with Southwest, and we are excited to be part of the great experience Southwest is bringing to their passengers.
– Aaron Clarke, Vice President of Cabin Electronics at Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems
The solution selected by Southwest Airlines will deliver 60W Type-C and 10.5W Type-A USB charging ports for each passenger seat. This will allow passengers to power and charge two devices simultaneously, including smart phones, tablets, laptops and other Portable Electronic Devices (PED).
“Our goal was to ensure that, when we took the leap into the in-seat power market, we provided our Customers with the latest and greatest cabin power system,” said Tony Roach, Vice President Customer Experience and Customer Relations at Southwest Airlines. “Astronics was the clear choice, with their latest-generation system providing USB A and USB C power ports on every seat in the aircraft, in a space-saving system architecture that does not compromise legroom.”
Hardware delivery for the installations will begin in Q4 2022, with retrofit installations entering service in early 2023. The Astronics Connectivity Systems and Certification group has also been selected to provide the installation design, STC certification and installation kits for the retrofit. Deliveries to Boeing for line-fit installation on new aircraft will begin in 2023. The program is expected to cover 475 aircraft in total.
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