Frost Radar™: Global Commercial Avionics Market, 2021

With the COVID-19 pandemic severely hampering demand for air travel, the global aircraft utilization rate has declined steeply. This utilization rate is highest for narrow-body aircraft followed by regional jets, wide-body aircraft, and turboprop aircraft, which signifies that air travel demand for short-haul routes is higher than for long-haul routes. Restrictions on cross-border travel and the drop in business trips are the prime factors contributing to low demand for long-haul routes. Low demand for air travel has forced the airlines to remove older aircraft from their in-service fleets to save on the cost of retrofit and aftermarket activities. Avionics suppliers are working to update their legacy systems, such as the flight management system. They are monitoring mandates issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the two major regulatory agencies, to best plan for and invest in products that will allow for the opportunity to gain retrofit contracts. Leading commercial aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) generally prefer avionics solution providers that deliver comprehensive solutions that help their customers (airlines) gain strong aftermarket support. Significant investment is required to upscale their product offering for the commercial avionics market; therefore, scope is limited for small avionics companies to compete directly with the established players. Considering the small number of industry participants that provide commercial avionics systems to the aviation industry, Frost & Sullivan independently plotted the top 12 companies in this Frost Radar™ analysis. The Frost Radar™ reveals the market positioning of each company using its Growth and Innovation scores as highlighted in the Frost Radar™ methodology. The document presents competitive profiles of each company based on its strengths, opportunities, and market positioning. We discuss strategic market imperatives and the competitive environment that vendors operate in as well as make recommendations for each provider to spur growth. Author: Waseem A. K.