[Satnews] Global Eagle Entertainment Inc., (Nasdaq:ENT) ("GEE") announces a major agreement with Etihad Airways to provide in-flight entertainment (IFE) content aboard six airlines of Etihad Airways Partners.

Etihad Airways, one of the largest airlines in the Middle East, has spearheaded this innovative IFE initiative, the first of its type in the industry, to provide an enhanced and consistent passenger experience while also generating cost efficiencies across participating carriers, including India's Jet Airways, Germany's airberlin, Alitalia of Italy, Air Seychelles of the Seychelles Islands, and Serbia's national airline Air Serbia. Guests will notice an increase in movie choices on all airlines.

Etihad Airways Partners, which collectively serves more than 330 destinations, flies nearly 700 aircraft and carries over 100 million passengers annually, has partnered with Global Eagle Entertainment to provide a compelling mix of movies, TV shows, music, games and other content to the seventh largest airline group in the world.

Executive Comments

"GEE is a clear global IFEC leader that has demonstrated a deep understanding of our business over the past decade, providing the content at the core of our passenger entertainment experience," said Calum Laming, Vice President of Guest Experience for Etihad Airways. "Now our partner airlines, Jet Airways, airberlin, Alitalia, Air Seychelles and Air Serbia, can provide a compelling and consistent passenger experience together through GEE aboard flights to more than 330 destinations worldwide.

Wale Adepoju, Chief Commercial Officer for GEE, said, "As one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, Etihad Airways is helping to set the highest in-flight entertainment standards in unique and creative ways."

Additionally, the company also announces the launch of AIRPRO on the heels of a successful trial with Canadian airline First Air.

AIRPRO is a fully automated in-flight operations workflow management solution that enables airlines and their flight crews to digitize their entire work flow.

Using AIRPRO on iPads, First Air's flight crews can handle a broad range of real-time inflight operations assignments and tasks during flights from Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg and Edmonton to nearly 30 northern Canadian destinations. Forms can be completed on a tablet during flight, submitted via Wi-Fi or 3G once the plane has landed, and later analyzed for operational efficiencies and savings. Flight attendants can easily process passenger food and beverage purchases, track menu-related inventories and manage promotional and northern merchandise sales using the AIRPRO Buy-on-Board feature. AIRPRO also puts passenger lists, real-time connecting flight information and flight manuals at the flight crew's fingertips.

Using AIRPRO on iPads, First Air's flight crews can handle a broad range of real-time inflight operations assignments and tasks during flights from Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg and Edmonton to nearly 30 northern Canadian destinations. Forms can be completed on a tablet during flight, submitted via Wi-Fi or 3G once the plane has landed, and later analyzed for operational efficiencies and savings. Flight attendants can easily process passenger food and beverage purchases, track menu-related inventories and manage promotional and northern merchandise sales using the AIRPRO Buy-on-Board feature. AIRPRO also puts passenger lists, real-time connecting flight information and flight manuals at the flight crew's fingertips.

Executive Comment

Bert van der Stege, Vice President Commercial at First Air, the first Canadian airline to utilize the tablet-based workflow solution, said, "The AIRPRO Buy-on-Board application has allowed us to cut down significantly on passenger food and beverage inventories based on inflight service analysis, which has led to significant cost savings per flight. We're looking forward to tailoring additional efficiencies with GEE that will continue to enhance the First Air passenger experience in the months and years ahead."

"AIRPRO's modular features are fully customizable, enabling airlines to integrate any applications at any time. AIRPRO can easily be combined with GEE's AIRCONNECT inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) solution for a unique and enhanced end-to-end offering and passenger experience," said Wale Adepoju, Chief Commercial Officer for GEE. "First Air is extremely innovative in its operational approach, and GEE is proud to play an instrumental role in enabling the airline to streamline its operations across Canada."