World First Achieved as Panasonic Hosts First Global In-flight Tweetathon

HAMBURG, Germany, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Five passengers, tweeting from five flights over five continents

Panasonic Avionics Corporation has achieved a historic milestone, connecting passengers flying over five continents via Twitter in the first ever global in-flight Tweetathon.  

The conversation, hashtagged #High5Live, took place between 10:00and 15:00 CET, as passengers on five aircraft flying over five continents charted their journeys and interacted with earthbound Twitter users 35,000 feet below.

Passengers used Twitter to compare in-flight menus, share the results of live sports matches, plan itineraries and compete for the most Twitter mentions, using mobiles and tablets to access high-speed wireless broadband available via Panasonic's eXConnect technology.

They also tweeted pictures of passengers and cabin crew aboard the flights, as well as stunning views from the aircraft over Greenland, Canada and the Amazon.

Travellers with American Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, and Aer Lingus, took part in the global exchange, sustaining a conversation spanning over five hours, 650 tweets and seven different languages. In total, the Tweetathon had an aggregated reach of over 850,000 Twitter users, resulting in almost 4 million impressions.

Several enterprising Twitter followers used flight tracking website FlightRadar (http://www.flightradar24.com/) to view the progress of the five aircraft whilst talking to passengers on board in real time.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (@Panasonic_IFEC) hosted the Tweetathon on the opening day of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. The tweets were live-streamed to the show's 8,000 attendees via big screens, prompting them to join in the conversation from the show floor.

David Bruner, Panasonic's Vice President of Global Communications, said: "In-flight Wi-Fi has come of age, and our global Tweetathon demonstrates what is possible.  This marks a tipping point in global communications where almost anything that can be done online on the ground is now possible in-flight.

"Our aim is to ensure that all travellers have access to onboard Wi-Fi, regardless of where they are going, and we are working with our airline partners to make this a reality.  People will soon find it hard to believe that the sky was ever an internet blackspot while the rest of the world was connected."

To view more highlights from the Tweetathon visit:  

http://bit.ly/High5Live

To view the High5 leaderboard visit:

http://bit.ly/high5dashboard

High5 Flight schedule:

                                                     Departure
                                                       time    Arrival time
     Participant     Flight no.          Route         (CET)       (CET)

                  American Airlines  New York to Sao
    Latin America     AAL - 951          Paulo         04:10       13:55

                      Lufthansa       Frankfurt to
    North America     DLH - 490         Seattle        09:50       19:15

                     Aer Lingus       Dublin to New
       Europe         EIN - 105           York         11:45       18:15

                   Japan Airlines      Tokyo to New
        Asia           JAL - 6            York         04:15       16:05

                   United Airlines   San Francisco to
      Australia       UA - 863           Sydney        07:35       21:25

About Panasonic Avionics Corporation

Panasonic Avionics Corporation 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 Corporation, a U.S. corporation, is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. 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

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Press Contacts

Brian Bardwell
Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Tel: +1 949 462 1742
E-Mail: Brian.Bardwell@panasonic.aero

Steve Double
Tel: +44 (0)7917 067580 
E-Mail: sdouble@bell-pottinger.co.uk

Charlie Hampton
Tel: +44 (0)7884 187297
E-Mail: champton@bell-pottinger.co.uk

Emma Ballantine Dykes
Tel: +44 (0)7768 293525
E-Mail: edykes@bell-pottinger.co.uk

SOURCE Panasonic Avionics Corporation