Aircraft Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Report 2025 to 2034

Aircraft Market Size and Growth 2025 to 2034

The global aircraft market size was valued at USD 414.41 billion in 2024 and is expected to be worth around USD 596.40 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.70% over the forecast period 2025 to 2034.

The aircraft market is seeing a huge and steady rise, with each year fueling the global demand for air travel mainly from the emerging markets of the world. Rising international tourism, business trips, and cargo transportation are all feeding the demand for commercial and cargo aircraft. A number of technological advancements in aircraft design, especially in terms of efficiency and environmental considerations, have considerably spurred this growth. Other notable contributions to this burgeoning market include the ongoing development of electric aircraft and hybrid aircraft along with many government investments in aviation infrastructure, and growing air traffic in developed and developing economies.

The aircraft market deals with the design, development, manufacture, and sale of different aircraft: commercial airliners, cargo planes, military aircraft, and private jets. This market covers the life cycle of aircraft from conception, design, and manufacture into maintenance. Air travel growth and economic development, growth, and improvement in aviation technologies are the most important factors responsible for increasing demand for aircraft. The future will be focused on innovations around fuel saving, the safety of air journeys, and environmental sustainability. There are rapid developments within the passenger and cargo aircraft markets because of enormous increasing air traffic, and sustainable aviation solutions are being provided.

Report Highlights

• In 2024, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market, holding a revenue share of 41.30%.
• Europe has generated revenue share of 28.10% in 2024.
• By type, the commercial aircraft segment has leading the market in 2024.
• By size, the narrow body aircraft segment has leading the market in 2024.

Aircraft Market Growth Factors

• Rising demand for air travel and tourism: An expanding middle class in Asia and Africa, in particular, is pushing demand for air travel up exponentially. More and more people are traveling for both business and leisure, so airlines and aircraft manufacturers see more demand for new planes, network expansion, and more services to cater to increased passengers.
• Air Transport Infrastructure (Airports, Terminals): Development and expansion of the airport and terminal infrastructures support growing demand for air travel. Good operations, large capacity, and improvements in customer experience through new modern terminals, efficient connectivity, and upgraded air traffic management systems support further growth in aircraft demand.
• Replacement of aged fleets with modern, fuel-efficient aircraft: The old fleets are being substituted with newer ones, which is more fuel efficient. The reduction in operational cost and adherence to the environmental regulatory standards is an added reason why airlines opt for new aircraft that provide better efficiency, fuel-saving capabilities, as well as offer a comfortable riding experience for the passengers.
• Low-cost carriers and budget travel: Air travel has become available to a higher number of passengers due to LCCs mainly because of their low prices and easier access. When LCCs continue to grow their fleets and networks, this increases the aircraft demand and is a major source of growth for the aircraft market overall.

Aircraft Market Trends

• Environment is changing the face of aviation with sustainable aviation becoming an emerging trend: Manufacturers have come out and started producing fuel-efficient models, using eco-friendly materials while designing. Airline and passengers will be willing to be on this list of sustainability, hence more demand for green technologies and innovation in aircraft designs and operation will increase.
• In recent times, integration of AI and automation has been on the rise with aviation operations: Aviation, nowadays, are progressively integrating AI and automation for both flight operations and maintenance and passenger services in the industry. AI-based predictive maintenance, automatic flight controls, and optimized scheduling enhance the safety aspect through lower costs but much better operational efficiency. This is changing the aircraft market by making it smarter, more efficient, and cost-effective.
• The expansion of low-cost airlines and budget travel segments: It would significantly define the market since low-cost carriers, also known as LCCs, would dominate air travel markets by providing affordable tickets in most cases with fewer frills. Therefore, democratizing air travel-a high constituency of younger, budget-constrained passengers. The growth of LCCs expands affordable aircraft offerings, which influences market expansion and drives how airlines compete and operate.

Report Scope

Aircraft Market Dynamics

Drivers

• Technological advances: New technologies and material sciences are transforming the aircraft into newer models. Improved performance, increased efficiency, and greater safety features enhance aircraft designs, which become less expensive in air travel, environmental friendly, and more reliable; thus, airlines spend more on new aircraft and raise their services, hence directly pushing aircraft market growth.
• The safety and reliability of modern aircraft are increased: Modern aircraft are designed with enhanced safety features, reliability, and operational efficiency, attracting more passengers and airlines. Aircraft have become more durable with better materials, more rigorous testing, and advanced flight management systems, thus reducing maintenance costs and improving overall performance. This boost in confidence encourages further growth in the aviation sector.
• Increased global trade with the need to transport various goods: With the continued growth of global trade, air cargo is also on the rise. It is mainly the aircraft that facilitates cargo transportation over long distances in record time without much delay and is especially essential for perishable and high-value commodities. Air cargo needs are thus directly parallel to the demand for more aircraft, thereby driving up the market size.

Restraints

• High aircraft manufacturing and acquisition cost at the beginning: It is high-priced to manufacture an aircraft because it requires good designs, therefore this creates entry barriers for newcomers. Airlines have to invest heavily in acquiring fleets, and the cost of production, certification, and maintenance of aircraft can limit growth, especially for smaller or newer companies in the industry.
• Low level of airport capacity and crowding at large centers: Most major centers are already near or at their capacity limits and therefore are subject to significant congestion and delayed travel. Demands for the air service that generate the major constraint in such cases themselves lie in increased air travel, but the runway slots and terminal capacities available at those busy centers don't increase or develop with the planes.
• Security issues and the regulatory complexities involving airspace: This is one other significant restraint for aircraft market expansion because of ongoing security concerns and complexity in the regulations of the aviation sector. Many laws regarding the handling of airspace, passenger screening, and international security protocols and enormous investments by air carriers and airplane manufacturers to fulfill, which create hindrances in business expansion.

Opportunities

• Government incentives for the development of sustainable aviation: Around the world, governments provide incentives to the development of sustainable aviation technology. It covers grants on green aviation fuels, and also to reduce emission through research. Significant opportunities arise before aircraft manufacturers, and airlines may adopt such technologies to meet their requirements and operate at lower cost.
• Aerospace and aviation innovation collaborations: Aircraft producers, air carriers, and technology companies would collaborate on innovation in the sector of aviation. Innovations may come in terms of advanced aircraft technologies such as electric propulsion or hybrid systems. It could thus help in raising operational efficiencies and allow for new areas of growth and competitive advantage in the aircraft market.
• Urban air mobility solutions and air taxis: This is probably the most exciting area for growth in the aircraft market from the new reality of urban air mobility and air taxis. There's an unthought-of amount of ways, even today, which companies find using eVTOLs to enable a whole new style of local transport in urban space as it cuts right into local and broad-based new niches of aviation.

Challenges

• Competition with other modes of transport: The more other forms of transport are available and are developed-the faster trains for instance-the aircraft market will automatically experience a competition where, in particular on routes and between Europe and Asia, and particularly where the rail system is efficient and inexpensive, passengers prefer using the alternative mode of transport since it costs them less money and is easy, hence curbing air transport demand.
• Managing the uncertainty and risks of global economic conditions: It relies heavily on economic conditions worldwide. Decline in economies, high inflation rates, or recessions might influence the levels of spending among customers and business traveling that reduce profitability and airlines in general. Other negative factors such as a world financial crisis, political unrests, calamities make it even complicated to cause this trend of cyclic trends in demand.
• Ensuring an easy interface between new technologies with existing systems: The integration of new technologies such as AI, electric propulsion, or automation will be a challenge for aircraft manufacturers and airlines because this has to marry with existing infrastructure, safety standards, and regulatory frameworks, requiring massive investment, time, and effort, which delays the acceptance of cutting-edge technologies.

Aircraft Market Segmental Analysis

Type Analysis

Commercial Aircraft: It refers to an airplane designed for use in the commercial airline business. Commercial aircraft are aircraft designed for commercial aviation, mostly used to carry passengers and freight. Commercial aircraft are designed with high efficiency, reliability, and safety in mind. Various airline companies have purchased and are using the models of aircraft for a range of different distances from short local flights to global long-haul flights. Commercial aircraft can be of whatever type, size, or configuration is needed to meet the various market demands and needs.

Passenger Aircraft: It fall under the commercial aircraft category. These aircraft are made for carrying people and have seating arrangements, facilities, and safety features for passengers. They come in a variety of sizes, from smaller regional planes to larger intercontinental models. The aircraft are equipped with restrooms, air conditioning, and entertainment systems to make the journey comfortable for the passengers.

Size Analysis

Narrow Body Aircraft: They are less spacious planes normally designed to have one aisle to gain passenger access. It is normally used to fly within a short-to-medium range of distance, where fewer passengers can fit inside it. Due to the single-aisle design, this is the most compact and cheapest plane type available, making it suitable for regional travel or routes where passenger demand is relatively low. It is mainly used for local trips or domestic travel or even travels within the same region.

Wide Body Aircraft: It refers to bigger planes, which have more than one aisle and can carry more passengers and have a more spacious cabin. These aircraft have been designed mainly for long-distance international flights; they offer additional comfort and perks to passengers with longer travel time. With bigger ranges and large seating configurations, wide-body aircraft are essential to airlines that ply routes requiring bigger capacity, such as transcontinental and transoceanic flights.

Aircraft Market Regional Analysis

The aircraft market is segmented into several key regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, and Africa). Here’s an in-depth look at each region.

Why is North America leading the aircraft market?

The North America aircraft market size was valued at USD 171.15 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 246.31 billion by 2034. North America is a leading global market in which the United States and Canada are found to dominate aircraft production and consumption. The world's largest aerospace companies, which include Boeing of the U.S., have huge operations there with airlines operating in the country commanding a huge commercial aircraft fleet. Canada also contributes to the aviation sector with companies like Bombardier and its active participation in regional aviation markets. Aerospace Industries Association, September 2024 the U.S. aerospace and defense sales reached an outstanding performance level in 2023, surging to over USD 955 billion with a rise of 7.1 percent from the prior year. Undoubtedly, it was a massive growth and, therefore calls for emphasis on the economic contributions of the industry where one million dollars of end-use sales supports for jobs both in the end-use manufacturing and the supply chain.

Europe continues to be a very significant market for aircraft

The Europe aircraft market size was estimated at USD 116.45 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit around USD 167.59 billion by 2034. Europe continues to be a very significant market for aircraft and is still largely dominated by the likes of Germany, France, and the UK. France hosts the world's premier aircraft manufacturing industry, Airbus. The region enjoys this very good aviation infrastructure coupled with established airlines which include Lufthansa, Air France, and British Airways, representing a very aggressive high-tech aviation market around Europe. Such new roadmap concepts for modernizing air traffic management in Europe by following a more efficient and sustainable aviation sector till 2045 is the European ATM Master Plan 2025 before the end of December 2024, founded by the two criteria of digitalization and sustainability, providing ten investment priorities as well as twelve development activities. According to these developments, it can make air transport resilient by reducing the emission level down to the mark of up to 400 million tons of CO2 by the end of 2050.

Why is Asia-Pacific fastest-growing region in the aircraft market?

The Asia-Pacific aircraft market size was accounted for USD 92 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to grow around USD 132.40 billion by 2034. Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region propelled by the fast-expanding economies of China, Japan, India, and the Southeast Asian countries. China is a very large player in both commercial aviation through Air China and in manufacturing through COMAC. India is also experiencing growth, with increasing demand for air travel due to its large population and expanding middle class. This will, for example, be the case for Boeing when the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China COMAC brought its C919 narrowbody jet to market with a potential capability to challenge both the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo in early 2024. COMAC intended to take as much share from Boeing's commanding leadership in the aerospace space as it takes from Airbus due to strategic investment and ambition made by China for aviation technology.

LAMEA Aircraft Market Trends

The LAMEA aircraft market size was valued at USD 34.81 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 50.10 billion by 2034. The area LAMEA consists of Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa with diverse and emerging markets for aircraft, providing a comprehensive market for any aircraft company operating in the aerospace industry. Both the demand from the passengers within the region across countries like Brazil and Mexico within Latin America can be said to grow over time. A key international passenger travel hub would be the countries in the Middle East, in which there exists Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad within the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. This growing African market with strong growths in the airline sectors of South Africa and Nigeria is an excellent example. Take the air travel industry, which has already achieved over 1 million air movements in the United Arab Emirates in 2024. It is now January 2025 and the turning point for an extremely recovering course from the pandemic. It represented a landmark showing that the country has a strategic location as the world's foremost aviation hub by increased passenger traffic and cargo operations. Growth is the underlining factor for success in building up and expanding aviation infrastructure which the UAE avers to construct.

Aircraft Market Top Companies

• The Boeing Company
• Airbus SE
• Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Textron Inc.
• Embraer S.A.
• ATR
• United Aircraft Corporation

The new entrants to the aircraft industry are using revolutionary technologies and business models to disrupt traditional aviation. These companies focus on electric and hybrid propulsion systems, reducing emissions and lowering operating costs. Moreover, these companies rely on advanced materials such as lightweight composites for improvement in efficiency in fuel burn and performance. In addition, recent entrants would focus on becoming digitally transformed firms using AI and big data while applying IoT through predictive maintenance as well as towards flight optimization and passenger-experience enhancement. Customer-centric for these companies; they are giving more flexible forms of travel by cost-effective while targeting environmentally-sensitive consumers and other businesses looking forward to more efficiently air-traveled solutions.

CEO Statements

Kelly Ortberg, CEO of The Boeing Company

• "At Boeing, we’re focused on advancing the future of aerospace and delivering for our customers. We are committed to developing sustainable solutions, accelerating innovation, and maintaining our leadership in the global aviation industry. Our goal is to create a stronger, more resilient aerospace ecosystem and support the recovery of the global economy with safer, more efficient aircraft."

Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus SE

• "As we look to the future, Airbus remains focused on leading the aviation industry through the sustainable transformation of air travel. Our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of aviation, investing in new technologies, and shaping the future of flight is at the core of our strategy. We are embracing the challenges of a rapidly evolving market, and our innovative solutions will ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our customers while contributing to a greener and more sustainable aerospace industry."

Jim Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation

• "We are focused on advancing the next generation of aircraft and aerospace technologies to meet the evolving demands of defense and commercial markets, ensuring that Lockheed Martin remains at the forefront of innovation and continues to provide superior capabilities to our customers around the world."

Recent Developments

• In September 2023, Air France-KLM made a major order for 50 Airbus A350 planes, which includes both the A350-1000 and A350-900 models. With an additional 40 planes added to the order, the first aircraft is expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2030.
• In September 2023, Embraer and FlightSafety International launched a new Praetor full-flight simulator in Orlando, Florida. The simulator, certified by the FAA, is designed for the Praetor 500 and 600 jets, which are considered among the most advanced in their class.
• In September 2023, after the mysterious disappearance of an F-35 stealth fighter jet in South Carolina, the U.S. government started an official investigation. The F-35 is one of the most advanced and expensive fighter jets, taking nearly 30 years to develop and capable of flying for long periods on autopilot.

Market Segmentation

By Type

• Commercial Aircraft
  
  • Passenger Aircraft
  • Freighter
• Military Aircraft
  
  • Combat Aircraft
  • Non-Combat Aircraft

By Size

• Narrow Body Aircraft
• Wide Body Aircraft

By Region

• North America
• APAC
• Europe
• LAMEA