Gogo Delivers Certainty of Connection, Privacy, Supply and Support in a Busy Satcom Market

• Gogo

The availability of constant connectivity is another reason to choose private aviation. Comfort, discretion, and efficiency are still important, but for many business jet users, connectivity is the second most significant consideration after safety.

Today’s passengers expect to remain connected in the air. They expect to board the aircraft, connect to the Wi-Fi and go. Principals expect it, use it, rely upon it. To the passenger’s mind, it just works like a home or office internet connection.

What they don’t want is to miss a video call, a time-critical deal, or even the fundamental necessity, in an unpredictable world, of letting loved ones know they have arrived safely or are on their way home. What they need and expect is certainty of connection.

Gogo recognizes that any technical system, no matter how reliable, can experience a glitch. Gogo also knows that regulations in some regions forbid connection to some satellite networks. An emerging problem, or geographical restriction, might therefore cause a connection to drop.

As an agnostic connectivity provider, Gogo is uniquely placed to deliver certainty of connection. Aviation never relies upon a single system, which is why Gogo is an expert in delivering multi-orbit and multi-band connectivity to its business and VIP aviation customers.

An aircraft equipped with Gogo Galileo for low-earth orbit (LEO), low-latency, high-speed Ku-band satcom from Eutelsat’s OneWeb network, and Viasat’s Jet ConneX constellation for geostationary orbit (GEO), Kaband satcom not only provides options for optimized service, but also resilience should one system fail, or regulatory restrictions force its shutdown. Gogo also offers the SES FlexExec Ku-band GEO, with options for proprietary Plane Simple antennas for both the SES and Viasat products, for a complete multi-orbit offer. Certainty of connectivity is ensured through the world’s only multi-orbit solution specifically designed for business aviation requirements.

Gogo takes its customers’ certainty of privacy just as seriously as their certainty of connection. There is a close link between internet privacy and cybersecurity, with breaches or laxity in the former frequently enabling bad actors to attack the latter.

Data generated aboard an aircraft at 40,000 feet is just as plentiful and easily gathered as it is on the ground, by parties that frequently need not and should not collect it. This is why Gogo not only advises and supports business aviation operators in employing robust cybersecurity policies but also treats its own customer data with respect.

Data is extremely valuable. Gogo monitors data behavior and looks for anomalies that suggest a compromise. Understanding how a customer uses their connectivity can help Gogo tailor future solutions, 1 but it never uses customer data for any other purpose, including the development of other products or AI.

When privacy is not protected, when a connectivity provider collects data for any purpose other than that necessary for service delivery, a CEO, high-net worth individual (HNWI), or senior government official using an aircraft connectivity system is unwittingly feeding important, private information to that provider.

Data generated by and on board an aircraft can reveal information about flight activity, connectivity usage, location, and onboard behavior, which is why Gogo considers privacy a significant factor in building the trusting relationship it nurtures with its customers. Gogo collects only essential data from its customers’ systems and does so transparently. Its customers know what data is being collected, why, and what happens to it.

Gogo encourages its customers to ask questions about their data. How and where is data stored? How long does it remain stored? Who has access to it after the flight and what do they use it for? If a service provider cannot or will not answer these questions satisfactorily, or embraces a contrary policy, then it may not be properly upholding its customers’ expectation of privacy.

Part of the Gogo mission is to future-proof its services, especially as a new generation of connectivity solutions becomes available, such as for customers seeking a LEO system. Demand is high and every installation means grounding an aircraft for at least a few days and possibly weeks.

Aircraft owners and operators prefer to combine satcom installation or upgrade with other scheduled maintenance, making the most of any downtime and perhaps limiting the need for MROs to disrupt cabin interiors to install connectivity equipment when parts of the cabin are coming out for maintenance or refurbishment anyway.

When an operator plans a maintenance event, they are relying upon every vendor involved to deliver on time. That could mean anything from avionics to carpets. Unfortunately, the demand for satcom terminals means that operators are increasingly being told the equipment will be late. In some cases, deliveries have been delayed by several months.

If maintenance schedules are to be honoured and additional, expensive downtime avoided, operators must have certainty that connectivity equipment will be available in time for their planned maintenance schedules.

Before, during, and after the COVID pandemic, Gogo invested millions of dollars into inventory and its supplier network to ensure it could meet rising demand. While global supply chains faced unprecedented disruption, Gogo prepared early and invested deeply.

Now, when much of the industry is facing extended delays, Gogo has built a supply chain designed to minimize inventory gaps, so operators can move forward with confidence, not hesitation. Gogo has parts on hand, inventory in stock, and is ready to ship. Gogo works closely with its installation and sales partners to ensure certainty of installation, an ethos that extends into all other aspects of the business.

As the only multi-orbit, multi-band, connectivity provider dedicated to supporting the business aviation sector, Gogo is committed to connecting its customers with certainty across service delivery, privacy, equipment availability, and always-on connectivity.

Gogo www.gogoair.com