Gogo has released its financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021.
The company achieved total revenue of US$82.4 million, an increase of 51% compared to Q2 2020 and 12% compared to Q1 2021, fuelled by strong growth in both service and equipment revenue.
According to Oakleigh Thorne – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer: “Demand for business aviation in-flight connectivity is accelerating. Our advanced platform is perfectly positioned to take advantage of that acceleration and our vertically integrated business model is converting that demand into sustainable very positive bottom-line performance for Gogo.”
Speaking to analysts, Thorne highlighted the positive performance of the AVANCE L5 platform. “While AVANCE revenue and shipments were strong for the quarter AVANCE orders for Q3 and Q4 are even stronger. And orders for 2022 are looking like they will be even stronger than 2021, all of which will have long-term benefits for Gogo,” he noted.
Another significant revenue driver for Gogo, is the rapid increase in the amount of data consumed by passengers as they use more data-intensive applications such as streaming, file sharing and video conferencing. Across its entire fleet, Gogo customers consumed 52% more data in Q2 2021 than they did in Q2 2019, driven by 26% increase in megabytes per flight hour and 20% increase in flight hours per day.
Thorn revealed that data consumed across large and charter and fractional flights nearly doubled over 2019. Gogo has launched four streaming plans for AVANCE customers including a new limitless streaming plan to take advantage of this demand, selling more than 50 of those streaming plans to date, driving an increase of $193 per month ARPU per AVANCE aircraft online.
During the analysts call, Thorne also provided an update on the progress of some of the company’s strategic initiatives.
Thorne confirmed that its 5G antenna had completed flight testing was readying for qualification testing in Q4. During Q2, Gogo installed and tested its first 5G base station antenna array as it prepares for Q4 installation of a seven tower test bed. The 5G core is simply awaiting integration testing, while the prototype of the 5G airborne LRU has been tested prequel testing begun. In with expectations, Gogo expects a commercial launch of Gogo 5G in the second half of 2022.
The hardware portion of the AVANCVE L5 5G upgrade is designed to be easy and inexpensive. As Thorne explains, “We will replace the two L5 antennas with two 5G antennas that fit in the exact same attachment points as the L5 antennas. And will add a small box next to the AVANCE box inside the aircraft.”
