In-flight Entertainment & Connectivity Market Analysis Report By Offering Type, By Component, By Aircraft Type, By Region And Segment Forecasts From 2020 To 2028

Industry Insights

The global in-flight entertainment & connectivity (IFEC) market size was accounted for revenue of USD 5.9 billion in 2019 and expected to grow with a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period, from 2020 to 2028. Factors such as rising usage of internet-enabled Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) and enhancement in wireless connectivity are responsible for market growth. In addition, the growing demand for media streaming and internet access on board and their willingness to pay extra charges for these services is projected to open new avenues for market growth in the next few years.

The aviation sector is highly competitive, owing to this factor the key players are under constant pressure to innovate and come up with new services that will help in the overall onboard services and solutions to the passengers. IFEC plays an important role in the transition of the aviation sector, as traditional seatback screens offer limited entertainment content whereas IFEC offers a personalized model to cater to the passenger demand or needs. In addition, advancement in connectivity, real-time data access, and seat designs are other major factors that are estimated to have a positive impact on market growth. The majority of market players are emphasizing improving the content delivery services. These are some of the key factors driving the market growth.

Convectional IFE devices have successfully integrated with many connectivity technologies to change into more robust and versatile systems. These systems are anticipated to witness substantial developments over the last few years due to the introduction of several technological breakthroughs. The global market is experiencing a positive impact due to the growing demand for enhancing passenger experience among service providers. The market players are extensively incorporating commoditizing hardware essentials and in-flight Wi-Fi owing to the increasing adoption of smart devices coupled with the introduction of consumer electronic devices into the onboard ecosystem.

The rising focus of airline service providers towards observing passenger's demands of IFEC services is expected to drive the market growth. The adoption of these services is expected to be a cornerstone of the aviation industry. Moreover, the rising preference for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend IFEC systems coupled with the integration of advanced connecting technologies in passengers system is projected to boost the market growth over the forecast period.

The demand for seamless connectivity is increasing among passengers during long-haul flights due to the growing usage of the internet on smart devices. Hence, leading airlines across the globe are focusing on offering a better passenger experience and striving to provide a personalized and seamless experience.

Component Insights

By Components, the global IFEC market is segmented into connectivity, hardware, and content. In 2019, the hardware segment accounted for the largest market share of the global market. The increasing trend of wireless portable electronic devices and BYOD trend is projected to augment the segment growth over the forecast period. In addition, continuous product development in the quest in order to reduce aircraft weight and IFCE systems is expected to play an important role to drive the segment growth.

The connectivity segment is projected to witness considerable growth over the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the increasing demand for in-flight media. Wireless connectivity services are estimated to have significant growth in the near future due to the increasing adoption of entertainment and wireless onboard communication services offering by airlines to improve the overall passenger experience. The introduction of Wi-Fi has enabled the passengers to opt for their personal devices such as phablet, tablets, phones, and others to stream TV shows, live content, thereby eliminate to fix hardware at every seat.

Aircraft Types Insights

Based on aircraft types, the in-flight entertainment and connectivity market is bifurcated into Narrow-Body Aircraft (NBA), Very Large Aircraft (VLA), and Wide-Body Aircraft (WBA). The NBA segment is projected to exhibit the highest CAGR as well as the segment with the highest revenue share during the forecast period. This is due to the development of airports and new travel routes coupled with increasing demand for short-haul flights. Additionally, NBA exhibits the best fuel efficiency and ergonomics over its counterpart, thereby expected to drive the growth for this segment. Currently, various leading airlines are changing their present fleet of NBA with the advanced fleet, which is expected to open new opportunities for segment growth.

In 2019, the WBA segment held a significant market share in the global market and was projected to witness considerable growth during the forecast period. IFEC systems on intercontinental flights and long-haul are present in almost all WBA, thereby expected to boost the segment growth over the forecast period. The need for onboard connectivity and entertainment services plays an important role on long-haul routes to keep passengers busy and enhance the travel experience.

Offering Type Insights

Based on offering type, the market is fragmented into In-flight Entertainment (IFE) and In-flight Connectivity (IFC). In 2019, the IFE segment accounted for the largest market share and is expected to retain its leading position over the forecast period. This service plays an important role in providing a pleasant experience to the passengers, especially for long-haul flights. The newly introduced IFE segment offers various advantages to passengers and airlines, including reduced aircraft weight, provide high flexibility to passengers for using their electronic devices, and minimal cabling infrastructure.

Significant investments by market players to enhance wireless connectivity are supporting the airlines to address the increasing demand for Wi-Fi services and live media streaming onboard. The above-mentioned factor is anticipated to establish a digital environment for passengers like their workplace or home. The major airlines are striving to enhance wireless connectivity along with greater capacity which is expected to gain maximum revenue market share.

Regional Insights

In 2019, North America accounted for the largest market share in terms of revenue. This region is an early adopter of in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems, higher adoption of these systems is expected to hold the largest market share in this region. The major airlines in this region such as United Airlines, Inc. and Delta Air Lines, Inc. are striving to offer a unique experience to passengers by offering tablets onboard and premium content through wireless connectivity. In addition, the increasing trend of BYOD is projected to allow airlines to reduce the need for fixing back-seat screens, thereby helps to reduce flight weight.

Asia Pacific is projected to grow with the fastest CAGR of around 13.0% over the forecast period. The key factor surging the regional market growth is growing passenger traffic which has resulted in the growing demand for aircraft incorporated with seamless connectivity and next-generation entertainment technologies. In this region, some of the leading players are offering contemporary IFEC services to first-class passengers. For example, the flag carrier of Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia, and a range of onboard entertainment services including in-flight shopping, games, and live streaming of TV shows to its premium passengers.

Impact of COVID-19

Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, governments across several countries have imposed travel restrictions, thereby it has a negative impact on in-flight entertainment and connectivity market growth. In the U.S., several states are on complete lockdown which has restricted domestic and international flights. In addition, countries like France, Spain, Italy, and India are completely restricted to domestic and international flights. This scenario has witnessed an adverse impact on market growth.

Post lockdown, several countries such as the US, UK, France, Germany, and others have started their airlines which are projected to witness a positive impact on market growth. Moreover, leading players are engaged in launching innovative in-flight entertainment & connectivity systems. For instance, on 10 August 2020, SpiceJet launched an in-flight entertainment system with the name SpiceSrceen that can be accessed on any passenger’s personal device. SpceScreen enables seamless content delivery on passenger personal devices.

In-flight Entertainment & Connectivity Market Share Insights

The prominent players operating in this market are Climax Technology Co. Ltd.; PCB Piezotronics Inc.; Dytran Instruments Inc.; Meggitt SA; Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.; i1Biometrics SignalQuest, LLC; Spotsee; Mobitron AB; Honeywell International, Inc.; IMI Sensors; and TE Connectivity.

The market players are focusing on addressing the specific requirements of the airlines, which is expected to enhance efficiency, and their potential to occupy new revenue sources by providing innovative connectivity solutions.

Innovation is a key strategy implemented by industry players to drive the growth of in-flight entertainment and connectivity of the market. To offer a versatile solution to airlines, Panasonic introduced its ‘Exo IFE/wIFE mix in-flight entertainment solution’ to improve aircraft configuration for embedded IFE, overhead IFE, wireless IFE, or all three services together. Such solutions are anticipated to help airlines to upgrade their existing IFE system with contemporary systems. Further, ViaSat Inc. and Gogo LLC. Have started to offer high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity, which is projected to fuel the demand for in-flight connectivity services in short-haul flights.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2028 For the purpose of this study, Million Insight has segmented the global in-flight entertainment & connectivity market report based on component, aircraft type, offering type, and region:

• Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)
    • Hardware
        • Non-Portable
        • Portable
    • Connectivity
        • Wired
        • Wireless
    • Content
        • Stored
        • Streamed

• Aircraft Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)
    • Narrow-Body Aircraft (NBA)
    • Wide-Body Aircraft (WBA)
    • Very Large Aircraft (VLA)

• Offering Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)
    • In-flight Entertainment (IFE)
    • In-flight Connectivity (IFC)

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)
    • North America
        • U.S.
        • Canada
    • Europe
        • U.K.
        • Germany
    • the Asia Pacific
        • China
        • Japan
    • Latin America
    • Middle East & Africa