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AEROSPACE: Lake Forest operation big with global airlines, first-class fliers
Late last year, Panasonic Avionics Corp. formalized a reality as the maker of in-flight entertainment systems officially moved its headquarters from Bothell, Wash., to Lake Forest.
Part of Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Panasonic Avionics saw its "center of gravity" shift here in 2005, when Paul Margis was named president.
Margis lives in Irv'me.
The Lake Forest facility is an engineering hub for Panasonic Avionics. The Bothell facility near Boeing Co.'s jet production plant in Seattle, houses a repair shop and sales offices.
Orange County is a center for in-flight entertainment companies, including Thales Avionics Inc. in Irvine, part of France's Thales SA, Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins Inc.'s Tustin unit, and up until August, Boeing, which shuttered its Connexion unit in Irvine.
Panasonic Avionics shares a big name, thanks to Matsushita's consumer electronics arm. But it keeps a low profile in in-flight entertainment, according to Margis.
"Our real goal is that our customers have the most advanced systems," he said. "We are like the guys who build Bentleys. We don't make a big splash. But the premium airlines know who we are and know where to get the latest stuff."
More than 3,000 planes are outfitted with Panasonic Avionics' in-flight entertainment systems for watching movies, TV shows, shopping, playing games or making calls. Customers include EgyptAir, Qantas Airways and Japan Airlines.
U.S. customers include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Continental and Virgin America, the U.S. startup of the British airline.
Carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates use in-flight systems for luxury appeal and to win customer loyalty.
They often compete with each other for the most high-end gear.
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