Surge in Business Air Travel Increases Demand for Reliable, High-Speed Connectivity

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Demand for private and premium air travel accommodations continues to surge.

Flexible and more affordable pricing packages, new environmentally friendly and sustainable jet options, carbon offset programs, and a renewed focus on personalized services continue to drive interest in the convenience of private jet travel. The value of the business jet market is expected to nearly double in the next 5 years, from just over $15 billion in 2024 to just shy of $30 billion by 2029.

However, owners and operators of business jet fleets face several external pressures including high operating costs, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, concerns about emissions, and increasing competition. On that last point, fleet operators are challenged with differentiating themselves in an increasingly crowded marketplace by providing unique and memorable inflight passenger experiences.

Quality Connectivity a Requirement and a Valuable Differentiator

Ensuring passengers have access to consistent, reliable, and high-speed Internet from takeoff to landing allows business jet operators to set themselves apart from the competition and maximize revenue from discerning business travelers who expect to have the same high-quality connectivity experience in the skies as they do in their homes and offices.

Ensuring the availability of inflight connectivity has become a non-negotiable prerequisite in the aviation industry, across both the commercial and private segments. However, offering a bare minimum service with slow speeds and frequent outages is no longer an option. Passengers expect and demand consistency, constant availability, and speeds that can support a wide range of activities, from basic email and web browsing to video streaming.

Consistency, Reliability, and Speed Drive Inflight Connectivity Purchasing Decisions

A recent study conducted by Intelsat confirms the direct correlation between high-quality inflight connectivity, passenger experiences, and the potential impact on revenue and the bottom line. The results reveal that, among those responsible for selecting a connectivity solution that will enable a superior inflight experience for their customers, consistency of connectivity is the leading factor influencing decisions. Eighty-five percent cited consistency and assurance that robust connectivity will remain available no matter where the plane flies, to be of either high or very high importance.

The reliability of the satellite network powering inflight connectivity services also ranked extremely high among the priorities for business jet owners. “Reliability” means that the network is always available and functioning normally, ensuring no interruptions in service from runway to runway, including as the plane travels through high-traffic routes where congestion can cause slowdowns and service disruptions. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents characterized network reliability as important or very important in a connectivity solution.

The third key factor of importance to business jet owners and operators is speed. Accessing today’s increasingly sophisticated data-hungry connected applications during a flight, including any of the most popular video streaming services, requires a network that can deliver higher bandwidth speeds, dedicated connectivity, and the ability to dynamically surge to meet spikes in demand. For business travelers, utilizing video conferencing services also requires the presence of high-speed connectivity. Poor speeds can lead to buffering and frustrating disruptions that can diminish productivity. It’s not surprising, therefore, that 95% of those surveyed agree that high-speed connectivity is, therefore, of high or very high importance. 

FlexExec Allows Jet Owners to Meet Connectivity Demands of Customers

Business and private jet owners and operators seeking an inflight connectivity solution that can meet always-expanding demands for consistency, reliability, and speed continue to turn to Intelsat FlexExec. 

Intelsat FlexExec is an enterprise-grade, multi-layered, multi-beam managed service providing high throughput satellite connectivity to private, business, and government jets, no matter where they fly. FlexExec delivers the secure, reliable, and continuous coverage business jet owners and their passengers demand, leveraging the same network used by some of the world’s leading commercial airlines to deliver robust in-flight passenger connectivity and entertainment experiences. 

With 99.999% network uptime and download speeds of up to 25 Mbps, FlexExec delivers the bandwidth passengers require to perform most of the typical connectivity-related activities while in flight, including sending and receiving emails, browsing the internet, engaging in video calls, and even streaming high-definition video content. Network redundancy ensures that data traffic continues to flow in the rare case of a failure.

Near-term network upgrades will soon offer users the option to access even greater speeds to keep up with the demand for more connectivity and higher performance. Multi-orbit connectivity will further enhance global coverage and network availability while meeting the requirements of lower latency applications.

Among its many insightful findings, Intelsat’s survey also revealed that jet owners want to work with a connectivity solution provider that has a strong legacy in the satellite industry and an established track record of managing the complex requirements that come with servicing the aviation industry. In an increasingly crowded market of solution providers, Intelsat remains the standard bearer having delivered critical satellite connectivity solutions for more than 60 years and serving as a trusted solutions provider for the business, government, and commercial aviation industries.

Learn more about Intelsat FlexExec