The company cited rising air traffic and a growing aircraft fleet as key drivers of medium- to long-term growth.
Over the next 20 years, the region will need 19,560 new passenger aircraft, Airbus said, representing 46% of global demand over the period. Asia-Pacific passenger demand is projected to rise 4.4% a year, well above the global average of 3.6%, keeping the region the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
The report identified five main areas expected to lead growth: component maintenance, airframe maintenance, modifications and upgrades, digital and connectivity, and education and training.
Component maintenance is forecast to surge to $100 billion in 2044 from $37.1 billion in 2025, driven by fleet expansion and aircraft aging. Airbus said supply-chain instability and a shortage of skilled workers remain structural constraints.
Airframe maintenance is expected to grow to $14 billion from $6 billion over the same period. Airbus said new base-maintenance hangars are being built in key markets including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, alongside large-scale investment in MRO infrastructure.
Modifications and upgrades are projected to expand to $6.2 billion from $3.8 billion. Airbus said demand is rising for cabin modernization as more complex retrofit work increases for older aircraft, with airlines adding premium cabin products and in-flight connectivity to meet changing passenger expectations.
Digital and connectivity services are expected to grow to $11.2 billion from $2.9 billion. Airbus said airlines and MRO providers are accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve efficiency, support predictive maintenance, optimize operations and ease labor shortages through automation.
Education and training are forecast to rise to $7.7 billion from $3.2 billion, with a rapid shift in the region toward competency-based training and assessment. Airbus said the region will need more than 1.06 million new aviation professionals by 2044, including 282,000 pilots, 302,000 technicians and 473,000 cabin crew members.
Airbus also highlighted maintenance operations support and ground operations services as areas that will shape performance for airlines and MRO providers. It projected the maintenance operations support market, including engineering, technical records and inventory management, will reach $46.4 billion by 2044, while the ground operations market, reshaped by automation and digitalization, will grow to $31 billion.
Airbus said mature markets will maintain a certain level of demand, but Asia-Pacific — led by South Asia and China — will drive the next phase of global aviation services growth and “reshape the aviation industry’s capacity, capabilities and investment priorities worldwide.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.