Aircraft Electronics Association: worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales up 13 percent in first quarter

The Aircraft Electronics Association released its first-quarter 2018 Avionics Market Report.

In the first three months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $639,796,979 or more than $639 million as reported by the participating companies.

First three months of 2018 worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales

The figure represented a 13 percent increase in total sales compared to the first-quarter 2017 amount of $566,179,780.61, or more than $566 million.

First three months of worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales

2018 Percentage of Total Sales by Market

2018 Percentage of Total Sales Worldwide

The dollar amount reported (using net sales price, not manufacturer's suggested retail price) includes: all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales -- including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services.

Of the more than $639 million in first-quarter 2018 sales, 56.8 percent came from the retrofit market (avionics equipment installed after original production), while forward-fit sales (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) amounted to 43.2 percent of first-quarter sales.

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 76.1 percent of the first-quarter sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 23.9 percent took place in other international markets.

Below is a review of the year-end totals for the six-year history of the AEA Avionics Market Report. Participating companies began separating total sales into retrofit/forward-fit sales in 2013.

Yearly Totals

More information about the AEA Avionics Market Report is available online at www.aea.net/marketreport. 

History and Background Information:
The AEA first introduced its Avionics Market Report March 26, 2013, during the 56th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to 2012, there never had been an effort to capture the true dollar size of the business and general aviation avionics market. The concept to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report began in April 2012, when the AEA formed an ad hoc committee comprised of representatives of avionics manufacturers to create a tool for strategic planning and examining market share.

"This report provides valuable information to promote the business and general aviation avionics industry to investors and inform elected officials of its global economic value," Derks said when the report was first introduced.

To ensure confidentiality, the participating manufacturing companies submit their sales figures to an independent third-party firm retained to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report. The companies currently participating in the report include:

• ACR Artex
• ALTO Aviation
• Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp.
• Appareo
• Aspen Avionics
• BendixKing
• Blue Avionics
• Cobham Aerospace Communications
• FreeFlight Systems
• Garmin
• Genesys Aerosystems
• Gogo Business Aviation
• Honeywell Business & General Aviation
• Jupiter Avionics
• Latitude Technologies
• L3 Aviation Products
• Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics
• PS Engineering
• Rockwell Collins
• Sandia Aerospace
• Shadin Avionics
• Trig Avionics
• uAvionix
• Universal Avionics Systems Corp. 

The number of companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report may change on a quarterly and/or annual basis. This may occur due to mergers and acquisitions during the year along with new companies participating in the reporting process. Any comparative analysis of the data should take this variance into consideration.

All dollar amounts noted are U.S. dollars. The AEA Avionics Market Report should not be considered a predictive indicator of future industry sales activity. The circumstances discussed in the report may not occur in future time periods, and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the AEA Avionics Market Report and the companies that participate in the report. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Aircraft Electronics Association, along with the participating companies in the AEA Avionics Market Report, undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.