In what Panasonic says is a “first”...

In what Panasonic says is a “first” for Chinese commercial aviation, China Eastern Airlines has launched broadband Wi-Fi on flights over China using China Telecom Satellite’s aeronautical service and Panasonic Avionics’ eXConnect system, the companies said Thursday. A China Eastern Airbus A330 is the first of 27 such aircraft to have the service installed, they said. In addition to the A330s, China Eastern expects to install the service on six B767s and 20 B777s, they said. “The first aircraft has been dedicated to routes between Shanghai and Beijing, allowing government agencies to observe operation of the service before granting full regulatory approval for operation on additional domestic and international routes,” they said.