This is marketing research on the Aviation industry and can include information on the background, market structure, definitions, competitors, trends and developments of aviation and is related to other topics such as aircraft, flight, flying and airlines.

Table of Contents

[edit] Background

Aviation industry covers a large area. A major division includes commercial and military aircrafts as well as passenger carriers that fly on the domestic and international routes. Other types include executive jets and personal aircrafts. Other aircraft manufacturers produce kits for assembling micro-light aircraft, etc.

There are specialist manufacturers of commercial or military aircraft alone. Since heavy research and development is required for developing a product, the actual development process and the manufacturing is so technology and capital intensive that major manufacturers actually develop and manufacture both types of aircrafts. Clearly assessing the market size then becomes really difficult and only educated guesses can be made, particularly as the military side of the business would not be so freely accessible.

The commercial transportation side of the aviation business is a very large market. The focus of this report would be the civilian commercial passenger airliners.

[edit] Market Structure

Commercial passenger aircraft development and manufacturing is highly capital intensive. Thus, there are very few players at the top end including Boeing and Airbus Industries. Between them they command most of the aircraft that fly civilian travelers around the globe. There are several manufacturers at the smaller class of passenger planes. These include the de Havilland of Canada, Fiat of Italy, Fokker of the Netherlands and so on. There are close to a couple of hundred companies that have made aircrafts at some point or other and many continue to manufacture now.

Source:Shanaberger

One area that is dominated by smaller manufacturers is the executive and personal aircraft segments. For example, Learjet and Piper are dominant companies in these niches.

[edit] Industry Definitions

• Jet-engined aircraft: Aircraft that use jet engines rather than older piston engines.

• Commercial aircraft: Aircrafts that are used for commercial purposes such as for carrying passengers or freight.

• Military aircrafts: Aircrafts used for military role for defense and attacking.

• Reconnaissance aircraft : aircraft equipped with instruments for monitoring various optical and other kind of intelligence.

• Helicopters: Aircrafts that can hover over one place if required. Suitable for use in lower heights. Used in police work, rescue operations, transport roles etc.

[edit] Market Metrics

Between Boeing, commercial division and Airbus they command a commercial aircraft revenue total of $66.425 billion. This is about 66% of the total market since the market size that includes all other types of small, medium and the business transports should be around $100 billion. This also is a period of high growth for aviation manufacturers.

This growth is driven by the rise in air travel in the Asia-pacific region. As this region becomes economically affluent it’ll drive passenger traffic and hence the demand for more aircraft. Both Boeing and Airbus are bullish on the demand for new aircraft. Some indicators are already in evidence. Airbus Industries’ Airbus A 380, largest commercial airliner just completed the first commercial flight run by Singapore airlines. The A 380 is capable of carrying more than 550 passengers. Boeing also is close to delivering its ”dreamliner” Boeing 787.

Regional	Growth%, 2001-5
Europe	                    2.3
Africa	                    3.3
Middle East	            6.4
Asia Pacific	            4.1
North America	            1.8
Latin America & Caribbean   2.9
World	                    2.7

Though the growth rate is the highest in the Middle East, it is on a small base; whereas Asia Pacific numbers are on a large base. In 2011, the global aerospace and defense market is forecast to have a value of $1,096.3 billion, an increase of 19.4% since 2006. Source: Aerospace and Defense Global Industry Guide

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization or the ICAO, the jet fleet is estimated to grow to 19,800 crafts by the year 2020, 14,000 of which are going to be new aircraft. These are to be delivered between 2000 and 2020. Given air traffic growth projections, Asia Pacific will account for one fourth of this new demand. Source: UNESCAP

Top Airlines Carriers:

Sources: Money and Fortune Magazines

[edit] Industry Players

Boeing: Boeing is the world's leading aviation company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems. As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The company also provides numerous military and commercial airline support services. Source:Boeing

Airbus Industry: Airbus is one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers, and it consistently captures approximately half or more of all orders for airliners with more than 100 seats. Airbus' mission is to provide the aircraft best suited to the market's needs and to support these aircraft with the highest quality of service. The Airbus product line comprises 14 aircraft models, from the 100-seat single-aisle A318 jetliner to the 525-seat A380 - which will be the largest civil airliner ever when it enters service. Source:Airbus

United technologies: United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is a diversified company who not only manufactures Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines and Sikorsky helicopters, but also their products include Carrier heating and air conditioning. Add to that other products such as Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, UTC Fire & Security systems and UTC Power fuel cells. Source:United Technologies Corporation

Lockheed Martin: Active in Aeronautics, Electronic systems, Information systems & Global services and space systems. Source:Lockheed Martin

AMR/American Airlines: AMR is the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines. American Airlines is the world's largest airline. American, American Eagle and the American Connection regional airlines serve more than 250 cities in more than 40 countries and territories with approximately 3,900 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 1,000 aircraft. Source:American Airlines

United Airlines: United Airlines operates more than 3,600 flights a day on United®, United Express® and TedSM to more than 210 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Source:United Airlines

[edit] Recent Trends and Developments

Surge in demand due to the growth of passenger traffic is the most important trend currently. This is driven by the demand growth in the most populous part of the globe and hence the demand translates to large numbers. Both major companies have important new aircrafts to offer. Airbus has bet on the trend that transporting more people at a time is more important, while Boeing is concentrating on providing an efficient craft. It will be interesting to see which approach wins out.

[edit] Sources

• Fortune
• Boeing
• Airbus
• Shanaberger.Com
• UNESCAP

[edit] Related ResearchWikis

Aerospace Marketing Research

Aircraft Engine and Parts Marketing Research

Air Traffic Control Marketing Research