Lufthansa Opts for Panasonic Avionics in Boeing 747-8 Cabin IFEC Upgrades

Lufthansa is upgrading its Boeing 747-8 fleet with the NEXT in-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplied by Panasonic Avionics, according to a May 19 announcement between the two companies.

NEXT is the IFE system developed by Panasonic that provides airline passengers with access to in-flight Internet, live television, and other streaming content services while also giving airlines data and analytical insights about IFE content usage trends. Under the agreement confirmed in their new announcement, Panasonic has confirmed that Lufthansa is also renewing an existing agreement for connectivity services already deployed on other Lufthansa wide body model aircraft.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Panasonic Avionics again,” Paul Estoppey, Head of Product Management Cabin at Lufthansa Group, said in a statement. “Our Boeing 747-8s are an integral part of our long-haul fleet, and we’re confident that this investment in Panasonic Avionics’ in-flight entertainment will be popular with our passengers.”

Panasonic will also provide mobile phone connectivity upgraded to "4G speeds" on Lufthansa's 747-8 aircraft with their AeroMobile service.

The cabin IFE agreement is divided between the 747-8's business class, which will be upgraded to 24-inch 4K screens with 10-inch control units and USB–A / USB-C, AC power, and wireless charging capabilities. In the premium economy class section, 16-inch 4K screens are being added, while 13-inch 4K screen upgrades will be added to the economy class.

"We are delighted to be partnering once again with Lufthansa with this upgrade of the passenger experience on their flagship long-haul fleet," Ken Sain, CEO of Panasonic Avionics, said, commenting on the new Lufthansa-Panasonic agreement.

The Panasonic agreement on 747-8 cabin IFEC upgrades comes following another recent long-haul Boeing fleet investment made by Lufthansa to purchase seven new Boeing 787-9s, three Boeing 777 freighters, and seven Boeing 777-8Fs. The Panasonic cabin interior upgrades are being added to a total of 19 747-8s operated by Lufthansa and the first upgraded 747-8 cabin is expected to be ready for passenger-carrying flights by the summer of 2024.

Under this background, the “11th Annual Avionics International Forum” (AIF 2022) will be held in the city of Shanghai on August 16th to 17th, 2022, focus on breaking through the key bottlenecks such as avionics system integration, cockpit interactive display, high-speed network communication and real-time health monitoring, focus on the research and development of core key basic components such as airborne embedded operating system, protocol processing chip and DC motor bearing, and catch up with the international mainstream technology level in terms of multi-functional display, aviation lighting equipment and cockpit control panel. Promote professional simulators and full motion flight simulators and drive the development of special software such as flight control, graphics, and images. Strengthen the construction of supporting capacity of navigation aircraft and UAV airborne system, to realize the platform, series, and large-scale development of airborne system.

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