The company released its second quarter earnings report on Aug. 7, highlighting a 6% increase in total revenue and an 8% increase in service revenue (up to $79.1 million) for the quarter, which This record was achieved despite matching record numbers. Regarding service outages during this period, CEO Oakley Thorne told investors at the earnings conference that Gogo’s new technologies, including the delayed 5G broadband service and the upcoming Gogo Galileo global broadband service, will The company said it expects the two-year surge to fuel significant growth in 2025.
Meanwhile, maintenance bottlenecks are creating headwinds as business jets sit idle awaiting comprehensive maintenance. Mr Thorne said the shortage was impacting “a large number of aircraft” waiting for replacement engines and parts. Alarmed by this increase, his Gogo staff called to ask how quickly a C check could be booked. The answer they got was during the second quarter of 2024.
“This perfect storm has left planes stranded on tarmacs across the country,” Thorne said. “Needless to say, when aircraft are stranded on the ground, customers typically decide they don’t need to pay their internet bill.”
Thorne said the company contacted the owners of 197 planes that had not flown for at least 45 days and determined that “none of them went to a competitor.”
Thorne said 92% of customers who suspended their services were back online within 210 days, another positive indicator that the impact of maintenance bottlenecks is temporary. .
A second delay in a key chip at the heart of Gogo’s long-awaited 5G network is “the most disappointing news of the year,” Thorne said, adding that the root cause of the delay is a common chip found in 5G networks. It was explained that the problem lies in the defective software above. It’s the same circuit board as a 5G chip, but it’s actually not a 5G chip. Vendors are still working on a fix.
“While this is very disappointing, we need to understand that 5G chips will be difficult to design and build due to the significant increase in speed and the increased density of transistors on the surface of the chip to enable that speed. ,” Thorne said. The company has taken some risks in its approach to delivering 5G, but the expected payoff is an increase in air-to-ground speeds of up to 10 times, averaging 25 Mbit/s and peaking at 75-80 Mbps. Includes: . Gogo offers a “one-box” solution for aviation 5G broadband that reduces installation costs and complexity. The new equipment is designed with a form factor that matches traditional devices, and the company is offering upgrade incentives to customers who install the necessary equipment (boxes and antennas) in 2024 ahead of the activation of its 5G network. It offers. We will provide a replacement box for free. Once 5G service is available.
“We are excited to bring Gogo 5G to market and believe it is the perfect product for midsize jets flying North American missions that require superior speeds at a better cost than competing satellite products.” Thorne said. Galileo products aim to penetrate the jet market of his 14,000 business jets registered outside of North America and the North American aircraft market that frequently travels overseas. Customers with Gogo Avance systems installed can now start up Galileo by simply replacing the fixed antenna with a steerable antenna and associated cables. “We have a lot of tailwinds that should drive our performance going forward,” Thorne said.
