Panasonic Avionics Corporation Acquires Majority Stake in AeroMobile Communications

HAMBURG, Germany, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in in-flight entertainment and communications (IFEC), today announced that is has become the majority shareholder in AeroMobile Communications, LTD. (AeroMobile). The transaction underscores Panasonic's commitment to AeroMobile and to its eXPhone product, which is a key element in the company's long term in-flight connectivity and communications strategy.

Telenor, which previously was AeroMobile's sole owner, remains the only other shareholder and will continue to bring its longstanding expertise in telecoms to AeroMobile.  

Yasu Enokido, President and Chief Operating Officer for Panasonic Avionics Corporation said, "This is a natural extension of Panasonic Avionics' longstanding partnership with AeroMobile.  We believe that, as a result of this transaction, our customers will benefit from an increased level of integration between our two companies."

Pål Bjørdal, AeroMobile's President and Chief Executive Officer added, "We are very excited to strengthen our ability to offer the highest levels of service to our airline customers and their passengers. We believe that this arrangement demonstrates the importance of this business both to Telenor and Panasonic, and by taking an active ownership position, Panasonic is clearly demonstrating its commitment to supporting this business in the future."

Moving forward, AeroMobile will continue to operate as an independent company, offering industry-leading in-flight voice and data services. The company will continue to maintain and expand its global telecom roaming agreements and bring the AeroMobile service to an ever widening group of passengers.

eXPhone is offered by Panasonic, in collaboration with AeroMobile's in-flight mobile phone service. It allows passengers to use their mobile phones, smart phones and BlackBerry® devices to make and receive voice calls and SMS text messages in flight, along with data services such as emails.

About Panasonic Avionics

Panasonic Avionics is the world's leading supplier of in-flight entertainment and communication systems. The company's best-in-class solutions, supported by professional maintenance services, fully integrate with the cabin enabling airlines to deliver the ultimate travel experiences with a rich variety of entertainment choices, resulting in improved quality communication systems and solutions, reduced time-to-market and lower overall costs.

Established in 1979, Panasonic Avionics, a U.S. corporation, is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC). Headquartered in Lake Forest, California with over 3,100 employees and operations in 80 locations worldwide, it serves over 200 customers worldwide and provides IFEC systems on over 3,700 aircraft. For additional information, please visit http://www.panasonic.aero.

About AeroMobile

AeroMobile provides world class, proven, technology and services that allow the safe and managed use of passengers' own mobile phones and PDAs in-flight. As the market leader, its services are available for installation either at the point of aircraft manufacture (forward fit) or on aircraft in service (retrofit) across both Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Since 2008 over ten million passengers have used AeroMobile services.

The AeroMobile system is available through Panasonic as an integrated IFEC solution, branded eXPhone. It is in operation today with Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and Malaysian Airlines, and will launch shortly with Lufthansa and Gulf Air. Other announced airline commitments include Etihad, SAS, Cathay Pacific and Turkish Airlines.  

For more information, please visit http://www.aeromobile.net

Contact:
Brian Bardwell
Telephone: +1-949-462-1742
Email: Brian.Bardwell@panasonic.aero