The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) published its first ever quarterly report, citing $1.7 billion in worldwide avionics sales for the first quarter of 2013. A previous report cited sales of nearly $6.3 billion for all of 2012. The report includes data from 20 avionics manufacturers, and does not break down sales by market segment or by new or retrofit installations.
The numbers, which represent actual sales figures rather than manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, include components and accessories for cockpits and cabins, as well as software upgrades, portable avionics, non-certified avionics and other tip-to-tail hardware, such as batteries. They do not include repairs and overhauls, subscription sales or extended warranties. Future reports are expected to offer more details along those lines. They will include breakout numbers for certified and non-certified avionics, domestic and international sales, fixed-wing vs. rotorcraft, subscription sales and will break down sales by aircraft categories.
This year’s AEA reporting, the first of its kind in the industry, is meant to provide perspective and market planning information for AEA members, and also to establish baseline market numbers for comparison in future years.
AEA president Paula Derks said, “Not only will this report be useful to our membership in strategic planning and examining market share, but it will be valuable information to promote our industry to the aviation community, investors, and most importantly, when informing our elected officials of the value of the industry to the global economy.”
