JOHN WHITE AND PAM RYAN HONORED FOR ‘LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT' IN INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

McLEAN, VIRGINIA, 30 September 2004 — John White , editor of AVION Magazine, and Pam Ryan , managing director of entertainment worldwide for Spafax , received World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) 2004 “Lifetime Achievement” Awards for their significant, long-term contributions to the airline inflight entertainment (IFE) and communications industry.

John N. White is a founding member of the WAEA and helped establish the earliest construct of the organization's charter and bylaws. He served as WAEA President in 1983. Mr. White also launched the organization's original “newsletter” in 1982 and, over the years, transformed it into a four-color 100+-page magazine distributed worldwide. His career began in the mid 1960s with Delta Air Lines, where he pioneered the use of video for inflight safety and destination information and for duty-free sales. He partnered with CNN to create the first inflight news-magazine shows and was there to inaugurate Delta's first live inflight radio show and first inflight telephony system.

Pam Ryan served on the WAEA Board of Directors from 1989 to 1992 and helped transition the WAEA from a small volunteer-driven group to a large professionally managed global trade organization. Her career began in the mid 1960s with British Caledonian Airways (then British United) in the inflight services department. In 1979 she joined Sony Trans Com (then Sundstrand) where she served for 20 years, rising to the position of director of programming and customer service for more than 74 airline clients. Ms. Ryan was responsible for the first appearance on any airline of television content, with the first-ever sales of a BBC program to British Airways (in the 1980s). She also helped pioneer pricing structures that are now industry standards for “personal television” and “audio/video-on-demand.”

The Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to John White and Pam Ryan on Friday night, 24 September 2004 , at the WAEA 25th Annual Conference and Exhibition in Seattle , Washington , USA . The black-tie ceremony capped the week-long, international "market place" for passenger airlines and their inflight entertainment/communications suppliers.

A nonprofit organization founded in 1979, the WAEA is the official worldwide network representing approximately 90 passenger airlines and 250 airline suppliers and related companies committed to excellence in airline inflight entertainment and communications and the continual improvement of the airline passenger environment. The WAEA main headquarters is located in McLean , Virginia , USA .

The WAEA sponsors international conferences and exhibitions, educational workshops, technology meetings, industry forums, industry research, and the annual "Avion Awards" for excellence in inflight entertainment. The WAEA also develops recommended technical and operational standards and guidelines for the industry and publishes industry periodicals.

For more information on the WAEA and the airline inflight entertainment and communications industry, please visit the WAEA website at www.waea.org.