In-flight Wi-Fi - market size worldwide 2021-2031

By 2031, the in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity market is expected to reach 39 billion U.S. dollars, due to the increase in the number of commercial aircraft in the global fleet.

The rise of a new market within the aviation industry

Internet and connectivity is an internal part of our daily life, from work to personal life, most of activities or information are circulated across the web and social media. The increasing dependency and need for internet urged air transportation companies to rethink how they can offer connectivity services during a flight. Since 2012, some firms globally were successful in offering in-flight WiFi services. During a 2018 survey, over 80 per cent of respondents from India, the Middle East, and Africa revealed that they would be more likely to rebook with an airline that offers high-quality internet throughout a flight. Although lucrative, this market is quite capital intensive and requires a lot of expertise to use scientific knowledge for economic purpose. Therefore, so far there are a few companies offering these services. Viasat, Gogo, Global Eagle and Panasonic were the leading IFEC providers in narrowbody aircraft in North America in 2019.

Viasat

Founded in 1986 in the United States, Viasat Inc. provides communication services covering commercial and military markets in the U.S. In 2013, Viasat expanded its operations and launched in-flight WiFi services, which was first installed for service on JetBlue Airways. Nowadays, Viasat offers in-flight connectivity services to United Airlines, American Airlines, and as well as some international airlines, such as Scandinavian Airlines. Consequently, Viasat has experienced an increasing revenue stream in recent years, with a 45 percent increase from 2017 to 2021. During the fiscal year of 2021, Viasat generated over 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. In that same year, Viasat's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached 531 million U.S. dollars.