LOS ANGELES, CA | July 9, 2014/GLOBE NEWSWIRE/ — Global Eagle Entertainment (Nasdaq:ENT), a worldwide leading provider of in-flight entertainment and connectivity solutions for airlines, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dave Davis as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. A veteran of Northwest Airlines and US Airways, Davis was previously the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE). He takes over from John LaValle, who will continue to work with the company as a consultant.

“I have worked closely with Dave in his various roles for over ten years. Given his airline industry experience and operational and financial leadership at GEE since its formation, Dave is ideally suited for this role,” commented Chairman of the Board, Ed Shapiro. “He is a proven leader with deep industry knowledge, business vision and the ability to foster collaboration among our talented team of employees across the world. He has been instrumental in driving the formation of GEE and the subsequent integration of our acquisitions, and he has the skills to accelerate GEE’s innovation in the inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) industry.”

Before his appointment as CEO, Davis served as GEE’s Chief Operating Officer since January 2014, Chief Financial Officer since January 2013, and a board member of Row 44 since 2011. Davis spent a total of nearly nine years at Northwest Airlines, ultimately as EVP and Chief Financial Officer, where he played a leading role in Northwest’s merger with Delta Air Lines. Other positions held by Davis have included Senior Managing Director of Perseus LLC, Partner and Co-Founder of Bearpath Capital LLC and Chief Financial Officer of Kraton Polymers and US Airways.

“This is a very exciting time for GEE as we utilize our global footprint to offer airlines a groundbreaking combination of content, connectivity and digital media services,” said Davis. “In order to capitalize on the opportunity ahead of us, we will concentrate on executing our strategic plan to grow our international base of customers, fully integrate our operations and further strengthen and expand our product offering. With a clearly defined vision, best-in-class technology and exceptional management team, we can broaden our revenue streams while helping our airline partners monetize and attract passengers through a superior customer experience.”

“This change reflects GEE’s succession planning process following the consolidation of Row 44 AIA, and our two other recent content acquisitions into Global Eagle,” commented Shapiro. “John was instrumental in the development of Row 44, the formation of GEE, and leadership during our first 18 months as a public company. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank him for his unwavering commitment and substantial contributions to the company in helping to establish Global Eagle as a leader in the IFE&C market.”

“Having been with GEE from the beginning, I’m proud of the company’s accomplishments and track record of growth, including having the largest deployment of Ku-band inflight connectivity systems around the world,” said LaValle. “I’ve been lucky to have worked with such a talented team at GEE for the past two years and believe the company is poised for continued success.”

Davis will report directly to the Board and was unanimously appointed CEO. As part of the change, John LaValle is also stepping down from the Board of Directors. Davis will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer until after the filing of GEE’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter, at which time Mike Zemetra, currently SVP Finance and Chief Accounting Officer, will be appointed acting CFO.

Los Angeles, CA | February 18, 2014– Air China Limited (“Air China”) and Global Eagle Entertainment (Nasdaq: ENT) have signed an agreement to launch a trial of Global Eagle’s high-speed, Ku-band satellite-based connectivity service.  This program marks Air China’s first launch of Ku-band powered services.

The trial will enable Air China’s passengers to access the Internet and stored content on approved handheld devices, in accordance with applicable Chinese regulations.  The trial will commence aboard a 777-200 aircraft in 2014.

Global Eagle will provide its complete Ku-band connectivity solution as well as support for aeronautical certifications, training, and program management.

“We are honored Air China has selected Global Eagle to support such an important program for the airline,” said John LaValle, Chief Executive Officer of Global Eagle Entertainment.  “As China’s Flag Carrier, Air China is known around the world for their superior and innovative services, and Global Eagle appreciates the wonderful opportunity to work with them on providing their newest service enhancement to benefit passengers.”

Air China and Global Eagle are in the process of completing various certification processes, and will gain all required authorizations to operate services on the 777-200 aircraft, in accordance with the relevant regulations and policies.

Anaheim, CA | September 11, 2013– Global Eagle Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENT) announced it has signed a Memo of Understanding (“MOU”) with TVplus to jointly market its award-winning interactive video platform to global airlines.

TVplus will accompany Global Eagle in their booth at the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) / International Flight Services Association (IFSA) EXPO at the Anaheim Convention Center from September 9 through 13, 2013 to demonstrate its second-screen technology.

As the provider of a leading full-service platform offering both content and connectivity for the worldwide airline industry, Global Eagle continues to invest in the technologies and trends that can deliver better experiences for passengers’ inflight.

The TVplus technology powers second screen and interactive video applications for 5 of the 8 largest TV network families in the United States as the trend toward multi-screen interaction and video interactivity continues to grow.

“A robust second-screen experience has been a growing trend within inflight entertainment and is something we’re evaluating as another key feature for our customers,” said John LaValle, Chief Executive Officer of Global Eagle Entertainment. “TVplus offers a proven, end-to-end platform that is easy to deploy, manage and evolve with our customers’ needs. We’re excited to explore the development of a second-screen offering that utilizes TVplus’ technology in line with our focus on offering our customers the most advanced inflight entertainment available.”

Added Randy Shiozaki, Co-Founder of TVplus, “Our proven technology and content platform powers highly engaging, multi-screen experiences for some of the highest rated shows on TV. Global Eagle is the ideal partner to work with to bring new levels of engagement and monetization to the airline industry and its consumers.”

Los Angeles, CA | January 24, 2013/PRNewswire/–Global Eagle Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: EAGL; EAGLW; EAGLU) (Global Eagle) today announced that, upon the closing of its proposed business combination transaction, John LaValle, the Chief Executive Officer of Row 44, Inc. (Row 44), will become Chief Executive Officer of Global Eagle, and Louis Belanger-Martin, the Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Inflight Alliance AG (AIA), will become Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Eagle.

Under the proposed business combination, Global Eagle will acquire Row 44 and 86% of the issued and outstanding shares of AIA. Global Eagle Acquisition Corp. will be renamed Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. upon the closing and will be the public holding company for both Row 44 and AIA.

“I’m pleased that John has agreed to serve as CEO and Louis as Vice Chairman of Global Eagle Entertainment,” stated Ed Shapiro, Chairman of the Boards of Row 44 and AIA and Chairman-designate of Global Eagle Entertainment. “I have worked closely with both John and Louis in their respective CEO roles over the past several years and have watched them build industry leading companies. John has done a tremendous job positioning Row 44 to extend its leadership position in satellite-based in-flight connectivity, while Louis has continued to leverage his nearly two decades of airline content experience to position AIA for the next stage of its growth. I look forward to tapping their talents in running of this newly combined company.”

Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky, founders of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp., stated: “The appointments of John and Louis at Global Eagle allows them to bring their strengths to the public company level. They work extremely well together and we look forward to being part of their success.”

LaValle has served as the CEO of Row 44 for the past year. After joining the company in 2007, he helped to establish and strengthen Row 44′s leadership position in satellite-based in-flight Wi-Fi and entertainment content. In his more than 20 years with technology companies, LaValle has completed three successful IPOs. LaValle’s successful track record includes COO and/or CFO roles at National Beverage Properties, TelASIC Communications, Kotura, Inc., Stamps.com (IPO 1999), Comcore Semiconductor, Trikon Technologies (IPO 1995), Superconductor Technologies (IPO 1992) and PS Medical.

Belanger-Martin will continue to serve as the Chief Executive Officer at AIA, a position he has held since 2011. He will also continue to serve as a Member of the Management Board at AIA and will lead the efforts to develop Global Eagle’s offering into a single solution. The founder of DTI Software, Belanger-Martin is credited as one of the executives who pioneered the in-flight entertainment business. He will continue to maintain key relationships for AIA and Global Eagle Entertainment with the company’s customers, which include more than 100 airlines as well as with international equipment manufactures and leading consortiums of videogame producers.

In November 2012, Global Eagle announced the signing of definitive agreements for the business combination to create the largest entertainment and connectivity platform for the worldwide airline industry. AIA is the leading supplier of games, movies, general entertainment and applications to the airline industry, serving more than 130 airlines worldwide. Row 44 is a leading satellite-based broadband service provider to the global airline industry, with its in-flight entertainment connectivity system currently installed on more than 450 aircraft that operate over land and sea worldwide.

– Funding to Support Expansion of Row 44’s Rapidly Growing Global Infrastructure

Westlake Village, California | June 11, 2012 — Row 44, the leading provider of inflight WiFi and device-based entertainment for airlines around the world, announced today that it has closed a $45 million round of financing. The funding round was led by inflight content expert Advanced Inflight Alliance AG (AIA), and included participation by PAR Capital Management, an investor in all of Row 44’s institutional funding rounds.

“This financing continues to strengthen Row 44’s financial position, and provides us with resources to broaden our offering, expand our infrastructure and invest in the types of programs our customers will find valuable,” said John LaValle, Row 44’s CEO. “As the world’s foremost expert in inflight content, AIA has made a key investment in Row 44, and in our ability to grow and evolve the passenger experience with inflight entertainment.”

“Row 44 has created a new standard in the inflight connectivity space,” said Louis Bélanger-Martin, CEO of Advanced Inflight Alliance AG. “We believe Row 44 has built the industry’s most powerful inflight WiFi solution for passenger devices. Our investment is an important strategic step for AIA to provide a connected environment complementary to the market-leading inflight entertainment content we provide to airlines across the world.”

Row 44 will use a portion of the investment capital to expand its global infrastructure to support new European and Trans-Asia airline customers, including the recently announced partnerships with Transaero, Russia’s first private airline and Icelandair.

Added LaValle “This industry is still in its infancy, and at Row 44 we see unlimited potential for the ways travelers can be productive and entertained while flying. We look forward to continuing to lead the evolution and work with our airline customers to provide the most advanced in-flight entertainment experience available.”