Aircraft Cabin Interior Market Analysis

Market Insight- Global Aircraft Cabin Interior Market

Market Overview

The aircraft cabin is the part of the aircraft in which passenger travels. The aircraft cabin interior comprises components and systems that are used inside the cabin such as overhead bins, seats, monuments, lavatory, carts, and lights. The primary purpose of an aircraft cabin interior is to provide comfort and convenience to the passenger. Moreover, various airlines install mood lighting, new fiber seats, in-flight live and screening, which can be manually controlled by remote control. The global aircraft cabin interior market has been segmented on the basis of product type into sidewalls/ liners, carts, overhead bins, seats, lavatory, monuments, windows, and other products. Furthermore, the market is divided into by application, by aircraft type, by distribution channel, and by region segments.

The global aircraft cabin interior market accounted US$ 16,113.2 Mn in terms of value and 2,415.9 Units in terms of volume in 2019.

Market Dynamics- Drivers

1. Growing preference of consumer for air travel is expected to drive growth of the global aircraft cabin interior market during the forecast period

According to International Air Transport Association (IATA) report, 2015, number of passengers traveling by air increased to 3.4 billion passengers in 2015 from 3.3 billion passengers in 2014, registering a growth of 3%. Furthermore, the high growth of tourism industry, rising international travel, higher disposable income, competitive ticket pricing, and a significant reduction in traveling time are compelling consumers to opt for air travel than other modes of commute. This, in turn, is influencing airline carriers to deploy new aircraft and thereby drive the growth of the global aircraft cabin interior market.

2. Rise in long-distance air travel boosting the demand for advanced and comforting interiors is expected to propel the global aircraft cabin interior market growth over the forecast period

Long-haul flights or long-distance non-stop air travel of over seven hours of flight time has increased significantly in the recent past. This is owing to increasing traveling range of aircraft, which leads to shorter travel times and fewer transit complications. However, a long-haul flight can lead to various health complications such as fatigue, restlessness, jet lag, and overall discomfort for passengers. Airline carriers are focused on enhancing passenger comfort, which in turn, is increasing adoption of comfortable, highly customizable, and technologically advanced cabin interior systems to replace the existing conventional systems. The practice of fitting more comfortable and soothing aircraft cabin interior products in long haul flights is expected to support growth of the global aircraft cabin interior market over the forecast period.

North America region dominated the global aircraft cabin interior market in 2019, accounting for 33.3% share in terms of value, followed by Asia Pacific, Europe, MEA and Latin America, respectively.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Market Dynamics- Restraints

1. Reducing demand for large body aircraft across the globe is expected to hamper the global aircraft cabin interior market growth over the forecast period

Large aircrafts comprising double decks and two aisles require higher number of aircraft cabin interior products. Naturally, number of monuments such as overhead bins, lavatories, galleys, and lighting systems are much higher than that of narrow-body aircraft. Airline carriers whose fleet comprising mostly of narrow-body aircraft generally tend to increase passenger capacity of aircraft by utilizing space taken up by these galleys and lavatories. Hence, demand for these galleys is expected to decrease, as cost of a single galley is much more than that of a row of seats, which is in turn, is expected to restrain the market growth.

2. Lack of profitable airlines in emerging economies is expected to hamper the global aircraft cabin interior market growth over the forecast period

Emerging economies such as South Africa, India, and China have a limited number of profitable airlines. This is primarily due to low purchase power and constant preference for conventional methods of commute such as railways and buses. This, in turn, is expected to hinder growth of the global aircraft cabin interior market growth over the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

1. Customization and replacement of existing aircraft cabin interior components to provide major growth opportunities

The global aviation industry is growing at a steady pace though there is intense competition among major airline carriers. These airline carriers make extreme efforts to increase passenger share by including more destinations, providing competitive prices, and refurbishing aircraft frequently. For instances, Thomson Airways cabin structure to accommodate the whole family, Air New Zealand’s SkyCouch, a row of three economy seats that together create a flexible space, and Etihad Airways ‘The Residence’, a three-room suite which has living room, bedroom, and shower room, has led to frequent customization and replacement of aircraft interior products. Moreover, on average, airline carriers replace their cabin interior products every 3 to 5 years to provide a new look and feel their aircraft. 

2. Adoption of in-flight entertainment system and connectivity systems across all classes can present significant growth opportunities

First class and business class passengers receive special features and amenities such as personalized in-flight entertainment and communication systems for comfort and convenience. Until recently, amenities in economy class segment were kept to a bare minimum. However, rising competition in the global airline industry is compelling airline carriers to offer communications systems and in-flight entertainment in the economy class seating, in order to attract more passengers. For instance, certain airlines such as FlyDubai offer these amenities for a small pre-paid fee.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Market Trends

1. Product type trend

Aircraft cabin interior differs as per the distance of the aircraft it will travel. For instance, long haul carriers are equipped with cabin interiors that are vastly different from medium- and short-haul carriers. Long-haul aircraft have passenger-centric cabin interiors, in order to enhance comfort and decrease fatigue with focus on ambient lighting, entertainment systems, and multi-functional galleys and seats. On the contrary, short-haul aircraft are designed in such a way that it increases passenger count without disturbing the comfort. In such cases, lightweight and thin construction of seats is being implemented in many short-haul budget airlines, while lighting, entertainment systems and galleys serve more as a functional aspect rather than a luxury. For instance, the ‘Space Bin’ concept was introduced by Boeing to increase the capacity of overhead storage systems by 40%. Alaska Airlines is the first airline carrier to adopt this concept, in which the overhead storage bins are made slightly taller so as to accommodate a hand luggage placed in an upright position.

2. Distribution type trend

Sales of aircraft cabin interior components are the highest through OEM sales channel, due to large number of aircraft deliveries through the years. However, aftermarket sales of these components are gaining traction steadily, owing to rapid increase in number of aircraft leased and rising trend of renovating of aircrafts by the airline carriers to keeps its fleet new and more appealing to customers.

Value Chain Analysis

Segment information:

In global aircraft cabin interior, by application segment, the Galley sub-segment dominated the global market in 2019, accounting for 35.8% share in terms of value, followed by seating system, equipment’s & system and cabin & system respectively.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Competitive Section

Key players operating in the global aircraft cabin interior market are Aviointeriors S.p.A., Factorydesign, B/E Aerospace, Inc., SCI Cabin Interiors, United Technologies Corporation, Turkish Cabin Interior Inc., Zodiac Aerospace S.A., Panasonic Avionics Corporation, Collins Aerospace, HAECO Group, Bucher Group, Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG, and Geven S.p.A.

Key Developments

1. Key players in the market are focused on product launches, in order to expand the product portfolio. For instance, in August 2017, B/E Aerospace Inc., an aircraft cabin interior products manufacturer, launched Aspire Wide Body Main Cabin Seating with United Airlines.
2. Major market companies are involved in product launches, in order to enhance the market presence. For instance, in April 2019, Collins Aerospace introduced μLED Reading light technology for aircraft cabins.