Lake Forest, CA – Feb. 14 2011 – Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and communications (IFEC) systems, today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) to deliver full broadband connectivity and mobile phone service on SAS' domestic, pan-European and intercontinental flights.

While final terms are still being negotiated, the LOI allows the parties to immediately begin developing the plan to deploy Panasonic's eXConnect solution, and its eXPhone product delivered in collaboration with AeroMobile, across SAS' fleet with installations to begin in fall 2011.

"SAS is proud to become the first airline in the world to put a true end to "Flight Mode" on Scandinavian and European as well as intercontinental flights together with Panasonic. SAS' new in-flight connectivity options will include state of the art communication services, innovative entertainment options in addition to true broadband connectivity for both mobile and wireless computer usage. It follows our constant focus on finding innovative ways to improve the travel experience for all our customers," says Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, SAS.

"SAS was an early adopter of connectivity with the earlier Connexion by Boeing service, and we are very excited to be working with them to bring true broadband solutions back to their passengers," said Paul Margis, Chief Executive Officer for Panasonic. "Today's discerning passengers want to have the same entertainment experience in the air that they enjoy in their homes and offices.  For these travelers, being connected is a part of their everyday lives, and with our Ku-based eXConnect and eXPhone solutions, they will be able to browse the internet, access email, and even use their mobile phones to keep in touch with family, friends and business colleagues at 30,000 feet."

Panasonic's eXConnect system provides two-way broadband connectivity to an aircraft.  It supports a wide range of passenger and crew applications, and SAS will use the solution to provide in-flight broadband Internet access over WiFi to passengers. The company's eXPhone product, offered in collaboration with AeroMobile's inflight mobile phone service, will allows SAS passengers to use their mobile phones, smart phones and BlackBerry® devices onboard to make and receive voice calls if selected by the airline, send and receive SMS text messages, and use GPRS services such as email and internet access.

Pål Bjørdal, AeroMobile's President and CEO, said: "Like SAS, AeroMobile is a company with a proud Scandinavian heritage. Working closely with our Norwegian parent company Telenor, we're delighted to be enabling SAS to be the first Scandinavian airline to offer an inflight cellular service."

For all media inquiries, please contact Steve Double on 0044 (0)207 861 2449 or Charlie Hampton on 0044 (0)207 861 2431 at Bell Pottinger Public Relations