Panasonic dials up inflight Wi-Fi with 800th exconnect installation

Panasonic Avionics has delivered its 800th aircraft equipped with its global broadband connectivity service, eXConnect. The company expects to deliver its 1,000th connected aircraft by the end of 2015. The system, which was installed on a B757-200 aircraft, was delivered mid-July to United Airlines. In addition to being the 800th aircraft equipped with eXConnect, the B757-200 was also the 332th connected aircraft that Panasonic has delivered to United. Paul Margis, President and Chief Executive Officer for Panasonic Avionics said, “We committed to the connected aircraft vision a decade ago and now, it’s a reality. Our goal remains the same – use connectivity to deliver business value to airlines and increase their bottom line, while delighting passengers. The numbers confirm the majority of airlines trust us to do that.” Since 2008, over 50% of all commercial airlines have chosen eXConnect for inflight connectivity. Last year alone, Panasonic increased its backlog to over 2,300 aircraft, and is expected to have over 12,000 connected aircraft connected the global network within the next 10 years.