Business aircraft with in-flight connectivity are expected to grow by 50% within the next nine years, market intelligence firm Euroconsult told Corporate Jet Investor (CJI).

The number of connected business jets aircraft are expected to grow to 36,500 by 2031, an increase of 11,600 from 24,900 at the end of 2021, Euroconsult estimated. That represents a 3.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). As a result, service providers’ revenue will more than double, from $620m at year end 2021 to $1.8bn by 2031, an 11.6% CAGR.

However, the company warned that service providers will have to introduce more competitive prices as they contend with evolving technologies during this time. Satellite constellations, which are systems of satellites that work together to avoid latency and breaks in communication, are expected to disrupt the market in the coming years.

Euroconsult said: “The adoption of competing satellite constellation architectures, expected to significantly advance post-2025, will lead to an upsurge in bandwidth availability as satellite operators switch to new generation satellites.”

There has been activity in the connectivity market recently, with deals being struck and acquisitions being agreed. In June, connectivity specialist Viasat’s stockholders approved a $7.3bn deal to acquire Inmarsat, which is expected to close in the second half of this year subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition comprises $850m in cash, about 46.36m shares of Viasat common stock and the assumption of $3.4bn of net debt. In May, Inmarsat announced at EBACE that it was upgrading in-flight connectivity speeds (of more than 130Mbps) for its service JetConneX.

Earlier this month, Viasat was selected by US fractional ownership and jet card provider Airshare to provide KA-band in-flight connectivity for its new Bombardier Challenger 350 deliveries and future Challenger 3500 deliveries that will begin next year.