THE DEPLOYMENT OF WI-FI BY LOW-COST CARRIERS (LCCS) IS A HUGE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY.
Airlines are finding increasingly clever ways to not only recoup the initial cost of the investment, but also to turn it into a revenue stream. Some are earning ancillary revenues by sharing passenger usage data with third-party advertisers, which allows for tailored and targeted inflight offers. Others are working with sponsors to offset access costs and allow passengers to access Wi-Fi free of charge, driving uptake rates and passenger satisfaction. Qatar Airways, for example, has enjoyed the benefits of offering free-of-charge Wi-Fi, and the positive impact it can have on take up rate of the service. There is a lot that LCCs can learn from this to turn Wi-Fi into both a revenue generator and a point of difference from their competitors. The deployment of Wi-Fi by lowcost carriers (LCCs) is a huge growth opportunity. Traditionally it has been challenging for connectivity providers to demonstrate the value of onboard Wi-Fi to LCCs, which must work within tight margins to keep customer costs low. However, this is now starting to shift as airlines and connectivity providers, like us, continue to find new and effective ways to monetise the service without passing on access costs to passengers. What will be the post-COVID-19 impact on your company and industry? Encouragingly, we’ve not noticed a downturn in the appetite for inflight connectivity over the last 18 months from our customers. Many leading airlines are continuing with their inflight connectivity plans - such as Qatar Airways, which marked the rollout of its 100th aircraft with our GX Aviation inflight broadband
last year. We believe connectivity is an essential tool for airlines looking to rebuild passenger confidence. Health and safety will continue to remain at the foremost in passengers’ minds, even as we look beyond the pandemic. Offering digital services, underpinned by connectivity, is a great way of reassuring passengers that their safety is paramount. Our Passenger Confidence Tracker revealed that destination status alerts, real time luggage tracking and preclearing immigration on the plane are amongst the most cited passenger demands of the post-COVID onboard experience. These are all enabled by cabin Wi-Fi. Airlines can therefore demonstrate their appreciation of a ‘new normal’ by bolstering digitisation in these areas as they look to rebuild loyalty and trust. What are the key projects you are working on this quarter? We are working on a major new project that will allow passengers to explore a range of digital services, including dutyfree shopping, secure online payments, and content streaming – from the comfort of their own device. As well as bolstering the passenger experience, the project will critically help airlines monetise inflight connectivity in new and
innovative ways. We also have a few exciting projects in the pipeline with new and existing airline customers in the Middle East, but you will have to wait to find out more about that. Watch this space! What is the vision for your company over the next 5 years? We’re investing more than ever to develop the most advanced satellite network in the world. Our ambitious technology roadmap will ensure that we stay ahead and consistently meet the needs of our global aviation customers for decades to come. Today we own and operate 14 satellites powering seamless safety and missioncritical communications around the world. To meet ever more complex demands, we will launch a further seven satellites by 2023 and significantly expand our ground network. This includes five in geostationary orbit – mea-biz.com
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