By Yvette Gonzalez
Nearly a century since commercial flights began carrying paying passengers and air travel remains a priority mode of transportation for both business and leisure travel. According to the Official Aviation Guide of the Airways (OAG), week 19 of 2025 global flight capacity is expected to reach just over 118 million passengers, a 7.8% increase from the same week in 2019. Indications that the number of people flying is on the uptake and that airlines remain a critical connector for us all. With so many people spending so many hours up in the air, how are they best using that time?
The newest and fastest growing provider in the industry, Neo Space Group (NSG), a PIF company and Saudi Arabia’s leading commercial space services provider, is answering that question.
City In The Sky: The Global Flight Capacity Context
Everyday there are an estimated eight to nine million people in the skies above us, enough to populate an urban city. The OAG reports that as of March 2025, there are 736 airlines and 3,936 airports operating worldwide. The Airports Council International World and the International Civil Aviation Organization released a 2025 joint Passenger Traffic Report, Trends, and Outlook early estimates indicate that 2024 global passenger traffic is expected to be 9.5 billion.
That is 9.5 billion people traveling around the planet in a single year.
That is a significant market of movement, and an even more considerable number of hours spent in the air per person, where depending on what is accessible, a passenger has potential to spend that time relaxing, working, and even learning. Within this context, it is essential that airlines maximize their revenue opportunities and offer a seamless flight experience with choices for access to information or service in the hands of each passenger.
Making Waves
Airlines have come a long way from having passengers disconnected from on-ground amenities while in the air and relying on a preselected movie, a book, or the life of a laptop battery to make use of the time. Thanks to technology innovations and passenger demand, interactive features are now at our fingertips. From pay-per-view movie collections, hundreds of channels of live television, music, games, flight maps, to wireless access to messenger applications, fliers can access diverse amenities through In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) to support a personal trip or carry on with critical business operations. With IFC, you can even connect your own personal device and use airline-specific applications as an alternative to a seatback display.
“Airlines are eyeing a lucrative future in the coming decade with exponential opportunities if they continue to offer the elevated on-board services.”
NSG launched a platform in 2024 to provide digital services and connectivity to airlines under the name Skywaves®. Skywaves® offers a range of capabilities to boost the services, including uninterrupted connectivity and digital amenities. NSG’s IFC services offer both Business and Commercial air travelers an unparalleled and fully personalized passenger experience. With an adaptive interface, the SkyFly platform offers an interactive, user-friendly portal for high-speed entertainment, movie streaming, gaming, e-commerce, and digital services, making every journey more enjoyable.
With regard to accessibility, NSG ensures that everyone can interact with all IFC services. The NSG IFC system is configured to offer accessibility features on the standard graphic user interface (GUI) located on seatback screens or personal devices. The interface is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, ensuring that anyone with visual or motor challenges can access and control the system independently.
Unlocking the Potential of Space for the Aviation Experience
Powered by strategic partnerships with SES and Display Interactive, NSG’s IFC solution is an integrated, end-to-end system that combines SkyFly, Skywaves®, SES’s multi-orbit network, and the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna into a cohesive platform. Each component is designed to work together, with Skywaves® optimizing network management, SkyFly as the end user portal, and the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna ensuring efficient, low-latency connectivity. Skywaves® intelligently manages bandwidth in real time, adapting to individual passenger demand and ensuring an experience that feels truly tailored. NSG’s integrated IFC solution is their commitment to allowing passengers to stay fully plugged-in, stream content without buffering, and access real-time information.
The NSG platform uses cloud technology to transfer data between interoperable networks, with the ability to communicate with satellites in various orbits. With its unique ‘Call as a Service’ model, the platform does not rely solely on core satellite operations, enabling them to provide a comprehensive connectivity solution suitable for the future of airlines.
NSG leverages the SES Open Orbits™ network to provide global coverage across geosynchronous orbit, medium Earth orbit, and low Earth orbit satellites. Even in challenging air corridors (over oceans, remote areas, and high-density air traffic zones), Skywaves® promises uninterrupted connection by dynamically switching between satellite orbits, guaranteeing high-speed internet wherever you fly. By prioritizing and distributing capacity dynamically, NSG provides airlines with scalable, high-quality service that surpass passenger expectations. This comprehensive approach to satellite coverage ensures reliable service across international and domestic routes, including transoceanic flights, and in regions that were previously underserved or lacked connectivity.
This harmonized approach delivers exceptional in-flight broadband across global flight routes and positions NSG at the forefront of the In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) landscape, setting it apart from competitors. NSG continues to focus on key geographic regions including North, Central, and South America, the North and South Atlantic Ocean, Europe, the Middle East and Arabian Sea, Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Asia including China and Japan to ensure consistent, high-speed connectivity for flights across underserved regions.
The Convergence of Data and Artificial Intelligence
What further sets NSG services apart are their complementary services, advanced video streaming capabilities, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven passenger services that adapt to personal preferences. When examining the technological innovations across the aviation industry, data analytics and AI emerge as the driving forces behind technology advancements. As the use of AI in IFC grows, intentional passenger-centered design and meaningful data will be paramount to build trust with airlines, loyalty with travelers, scale with relevance, and remain sustainable.
NSG is leading creative expansion in the use of next-generation satellite technology for immersive entertainment such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and AI-driven experiences. For AI-driven IFC innovations to gain international acceptance within the airline industry, all stakeholders must trust the accuracy and reliability of these systems. Airlines and passengers alike will have to be reassured that AI decisions are grounded in verifiable and empirical information. As the role of AI expands in airline operations, NSG continues to research and stay up to date on evolving iterations of Generative AI, data management best practices, and access to quality input to offer (and scale) successful AI capabilities.
As NSG considers all future creative IFC applications, areas such as virtual reality in-flight experiences, interactive gaming, or AI-based content creation are just a few of the innovative areas they will explore.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a key driver for aircraft design and an interior experience for passengers. NSG’s IFC solution prioritizes sustainability through its energy-efficient design and integration of eco-friendly technologies. The system is designed to reduce fuel consumption by minimizing the weight and energy required for in-flight connectivity, helping airlines lower their carbon footprint. While this approach offers lower costs to airlines, it demonstrates NSG’s dedication to global environmental standards.
In addition, NSG’s use of advanced satellite networks ensures that data transmission reduces the environmental impact of traditional communication systems. Their technology supports the digitalization of in-flight services, which helps airlines reduce paper waste by shifting to electronic menus, digital magazines, and on-demand content, aligning with sustainability goals.
“It is essential that airlines maximize their revenue opportunities and offer a seamless flight experience with choices for access to information or service in the hands of each passenger.”
Their focus on efficiency, minimal environmental impact, and promoting sustainable practices makes NSG’s IFC an attractive option for environmentally conscious airlines and travelers.
Quality, Quality, Quality
Airlines are eyeing a lucrative future in the coming decade with exponential opportunities if they continue to offer the elevated on-board services. Grand View Research reported that the global aircraft cabin interior market size is estimated at USD 26.88 billion and projected to grow at a rate of 9.7% from 2025 to 2030. Innovation will only grow to meet this demand and NSG is staying ahead of the curve anticipating future travel comforts, efficiency, and custom services that help airlines stand apart from their competitors.
The future of passenger comfort also includes advancements in countless areas such as seat design, lighting, air quality, and connectivity. NSG is already focused on and will continue to improve connectivity to enable ultra, high-definition streaming, video conferencing, and smooth collaboration. By anticipating passenger needs, services are intuitive and tailored to individual preferences. These innovations will push the boundaries of speed and reliability, offering a highly adaptive and comfortable experience.
Relationships are a key strength for NSG and enable the company to leverage specialized capabilities of satellite networks, antennas, and communication technologies. NSG’s IFC solutions are a combination of integrated partner capabilities from SkyFly, Skywaves®, SES’s multi-orbit network, and the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna. These collaborations allow NSG to offer a scalable solution that would be difficult to achieve alone. Looking to the future, NSG recognizes the importance of strong partnerships in advancing the capabilities of its IFC solution and will continue to be a cornerstone of their strategy for delivering next-generation in-flight connectivity services.
The team recognizes the impact their IFC solution has on an airline’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) – an airline’s measure of quality of service for the passenger. For NSG, they are simultaneously measuring Quality of Service, which relies on and is informed by airline NPS scores to improve their offerings.
Shaping the Future of Connectivity Services in the Air
NSG is expanding with intention and keeping momentum for the foreseeable future. Just this week they announced their exciting expanded partnership with Thai Airways International to equip 80 aircraft with the IFC solution. Production plans now include Thai Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet to be fitted with SPI’s Aeroconnect terminal, marking a pivotal milestone in NSG and Thai Airways’ joint connectivity strategy. Deliveries for the 787s are scheduled to commence in mid-2026. A testament to their reliable work to date.
In the short term, the company is scaling its infrastructure, enhancing coverage in key regions, and rolling out next-generation satellite technologies within the next one to two years. This aim is to increase global connectivity and improve service reliability and speed. For the long-term, expansion will bring advanced immersive entertainment options, bespoke experiences, and more sustainability initiatives.
As the first venture for the Saudi PIF, the NSG team is driving transformation like the industry has never seen before and bolstering the market in the sky. Thanks to space technologies, the airline industry evolution is unfolding rapidly and NSG is proving their relevance in reliable and intriguing services. In the next five years, NSG plans to be a global leader in satellite communications and space technology, pioneering in-flight connectivity and technology innovation – on track with Saudi Arabia’s bold vision 2030 and setting a trend for the PIF.
Yvette Gonzalez is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Plymouth Faculty of Health, a Spaceflight/Bioastronautics Researcher, and an Author. She serves as a Spacesuit technician and carries out space research in orbit and sub-orbit. Yvette is pioneering research in applied space medical solutions for humanity and progresses this research within the context of international emergency public health, astronaut health, space ecology, and astronautics training. Her latest published works of poetry were published in 2024. As a contributing SWG Editor and writer, her features highlight the profound impact of space exploration on the industry, planet, and humanity.
