China Eastern receives first A350 with cockpit touchscreens

China Eastern Airlines has taken delivery of the first Airbus A350 to be fitted with a touchscreen option for the large displays in the aircraft’s cockpit. The initial aircraft to receive the option is an A350-900 Last year Airbus was testing touchscreen displays on an A350-1000, and certification by EASA took place in November. The technology is being introduced as an option through avionics specialist Thales. Some 20 carriers have selected the feature. Three of the 6 15.4in screens in the A350 cockpit can be adapted to include touchscreens. These include the 2 outermost screens – which normally show electronic flight bag information – and the lower of the 2 central screens, which normally contains the multi-function display. Airbus will offer the touchscreens exclusively on the A350 for now. <br/>