Aircraft Refurbishing Market Trends

Significance of delivering world class facilities and luxury passenger flight experience along with growing domestic airline market are some of the significant factors that are anticipated to boost the market growth. Additionally, the growing use of lightweight materials, since they reduce the weight of an aircraft which results in reducing fuel costs, gives the profit margins to the airlines. Driven by these prominent features along with favorable government regulations for permitting these restructuring activities in public transport, the global aircraft refurbishing market is estimated to grow with notable CAGR during the forecast period, i.e., 2020-2028.

The global aircraft refurbishing market is segmented by aircraft, by refurbishing, by application and by end user. On the basis of aircraft, the market is segmented into very light aircraft, wide body aircraft, narrow body aircraft, and others, out of which, the narrow body aircraft segment is estimated to hold leading share as these aircrafts are highly preferred among the aero manufacturers owing to their low operational costs as compared to wide body aircrafts. The market is further segmented by application into transforming passenger to freight aircrafts, commercial aircraft cabin refurbishing, VIP cabin refurbishing and others. Among these segments, the passenger to freight transformation was the largest revenue generating segment in 2019 owing to various factors such as growing global e-commerce, international trade and emergency medical supplies to fight the pandemic. Additionally, the global geo-political conflicts and increase in defense budgets for acquiring freight planes for military supplies are additional factors estimated to contribute towards the growth of the segment.

Growth Drivers

Enhanced Travel Experience to Customers and Brand Recall

A large number of people travel through airlines annually, making the process of brand management an important dimension for airlines. Business studies have shown the importance of brand awareness, perceived quality, brand image and brand loyalty, and their likely effect on airline brand equity. This has led to an increased demand for a niche aerospace aftermarket, which includes refurbishment and completion of cabin interiors of business and corporate jets. VIP aircrafts feature a bedroom, lounge area, dining room, and first class seats. In order to completely satisfy customers’ needs, refurbishment service providers directly collaborate with designers to customize the interiors of aircrafts.

Airlines invest a significant amount of time to increase passenger share by adding more destinations, aggressive ticket prices, and revamping their aircrafts frequently. Manufacturers are focused on developing high-quality aircraft components to accommodate specific requirements from OEMs and airline carriers. Most aircraft refurbishing suppliers have long-term contracts with OEMs and airline carriers to provide customized aircraft refurbishing products. These are some of the considerable factors that are estimated to promote the growth of the market. Additionally, this growth is backed by rising number of domestic passengers across the globe.

Improving Fuel-Efficiency and Minimizing Operational Costs

Aircraft weight and fuel consumption are important factors which affect the efficiency of an aircraft. Less fuel consumption means lower CO₂ emissions as well as significant reduction in operating costs of airlines. The cabin part of an aircraft has seen significant technological innovations ranging from seating arrangements to lighting systems and is estimated to drive the global aircraft refurbishing market with growth opportunities throughout the forecast period. Refurbishing service providers offer standardized and modular designs for selected aircrafts resulting in minimal downtime for aircraft and cost effective cabin refurbishment. The modular kit interior concept is expected to be the industry standard in aircraft refurbishment over the coming years.

Restraints

High Capital Investment

The potential factor that is predicted to negatively affect the growth of the market is the high initial capital investment with aircraft refurbishing. Airline industry required large amounts of continuous investments in order to keep the aircrafts updated and to introduce newer technologies.