In-flight entertainment: connectivity on airplanes could double by 2030

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on many global sectors, including the aviation industry. Euroconsult has analyzed the impact on the market of in-flight connectivity in its report Prospects for In-Flight Entertainment & Connectivity.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of global market trends and forecasts for the next decade, in terms of connectivity provided to passengers on board.

It also presents an analysis of the impact on the market over the past year of pandemic-related factors, such as nationwide closures, grounded flights and inaccessibility for new facilities due to border closures, estimating that revenue from in-flight connectivity services fell by almost a third, to a total of $970 million.

Euroconsult anticipates that the recovery of the In-flight entertainment & connectivity market (IFEC) It will depend on the recovery of the aviation industry, and the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Based on two scenarios, the high case and the low case, the analysis predicts that the total number of Connected aircraft will reach between 16,000 and 20,000 by the end of this decade. This figure is lower in relation to previous forecasts, also as a consequence of the pandemic.

Vishal Patil, from Euroconsult, highlights that “the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst as it triggered some consolidations, some mergers and some acquisitions.”

Examples of this market-specific activity include Intelsat's acquisition of Gogo Commercial Aviation and leading broadband and entertainment services provider Anuvu, formerly Global Eagle, which filed for Chapter 11 in July 2020 with the help of private financing. Broadband satellite operator OneWeb has also undergone a similar financing procedure.

Takeoff slows down

The 2021 edition shows that around 9,000 aircraft from 115 airlines are currently equipped with in-flight connectivity (IFC) terminals, a reduction of 2.5% compared to the previous year. More than 80% of these aircraft were connected through wireless connectivity. satellite, and the rest through the air-ground connection. The rate of new installations has been much lower this year as a result of regional closures, which have made access to aircraft difficult.

Unlike previous reports, this new edition takes into account regional aircraft and turboprops in the connectivity analysis, as well as mobile satellite services (MSS) solutions. Also provided is an update on the introduction of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems, covering the Starlink constellation, operated by SpaceX, as well as Telesat and OneWeb, as well as the availability of capacity for aviation first in Ku-band and then in Ka-band.