Astronics Corporation has signed an agreement with Southwest Airlines to provide its EMPOWER® Passenger In-Seat Power System for installation on 475 Boeing 737 MAX-7 and MAX-8 aircraft.
This award is part of Southwest’s recently announced significant cabin upgrade initiative to enhance the customer experience. The system configuration selected by Southwest Airlines will provide 60W Type-C and 10.5W Type-A USB charging ports at every passenger seat. This will allow passengers to power and charge two devices simultaneously, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and other portable electronic devices (PEDs).
Astronics will begin delivering in the fourth quarter of 2022 for retrofit installations on Southwest Airlines’ existing MAX-8 fleet. The Astronics Connectivity Systems and Certification group has been selected to provide the installation design, STC certification and installation kits for the retrofit. Deliveries to Boeing for installation on new aircraft on the production line will begin in 2023.
