Business Aviation Satellite Connectivity Largely Recovered: Valour

The in-flight connectivity market for business aircraft has largely recovered from the pandemic, said Valour Consultancy co-founder and analyst Craig Foster Thursday in a webinar, saying Gogo and Inmarsat are close to resuming installation rates in line with pre-COVID-19 trends. He said it will take a handful of years before new low earth orbit constellations filter through to smaller aircraft as those constellations' initial focus will be on large-cabin jets. He said small and mid-sized aircraft are technological challenges for LEO satellite services, such as creating electronically steered antennas for smaller aircraft. He said in the nearer term, the business aviation market will focus more on L-band service and air-to-ground systems.