Flight Tracking System Market Analysis

Global Flight Tracking System Market Overview

Flight tracking system market Size was valued at USD 487.5 million in 2022. The Flight tracking system market is projected to grow to USD 816.56 million by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% during the forecast period (2022 - 2032).

A flight tracking system involves the use of software for tracking aircraft, flights, and airport activities. Flight tracking systems and software are commercially available for airport or flight operators to track their flights or aircraft and monitor them if they deviate from the set flight path. Ifthe flight or aircraft deviates from the set path, the flight tracking system generates a warning alarm and alerts the authorities about potential problems.

The global flight tracking system market has witnessed high growth in recent years due to the increase in demand for new aircraft and the focus on ensuring flight safety and constant aircraft monitoring. However, high installation costs and cyber security threats are expected to restrain the market growth to some extent.

COVID-19 Analysis

According to MRFR, the current projections of global flight tracking system market growth till 2027 are expected to be lower than pre-COVID-19 estimates. The pandemic has had a devastating negative impact on the aviation industry across the world. With the COVID-19 cases still on the rise and slow vaccine roll-out (with a few exceptions like China) in developing countries, the governments are focused on "flattening the curve" in their countries. Hence, the government is focusing more on healthcare equipment, vaccine development & manufacturing, and roll-out programs. The growth of the flight tracking system market in these countries is expected to have a negative impact.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the outlook remains positive and constrained by several factors, such as the COVID-19 curve, vaccination rate, and economic recovery. With these constraints being short-term in nature and the long-term growth drivers still being relevant, the aviation industry is expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic growth levels in a couple of years.With rapid vaccine roll-out in large economies and business travel reaching pre-pandemic levels, the flight tracking system market is anticipated to grow once the global economy plunges back. Thus, the global flight tracking system market is projected to grow at a slower rate in 2021. However, the growth is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels in a couple of years.

Market Dynamics

• Increasing Demand for New Aircraft

The increasing demand for new aircraft can be primarily attributed to two major factors, namely, rapidly growing ranks of middle-class air passengers and robust growth of the aviation industry. In April 2021, the Boeing Company, one of the world's largest aerospace and defense companies, in its annual commercial market outlook (CMO), forecasted the demand for over 2,200 new jet planes in India alone over the next two decades. The company ascribed this demand to strong aviation growth and the expanding middle class in the country. The company added that despite the near-term challenges posed by the pandemic, the passenger traffic growth is expected to be higher than the global average and get almost double compared to pre-pandemic levels by 2030. With the rise in disposable incomes, passenger traffic related to leisure and business activities is expected to grow in the future. By 2039, the company anticipates a four-fold growth in India's commercial fleet due to increasing demand for domestic, regional, and long-haul travel. Thus, increasing demand for new aircraftis likely to drive the growth of the global flight tracking system market during the forecast period.

• Increasing Demand for Flight Tracking Systemsin Emerging Economies

Over the past two decades, several emerging economies such as India, China, Mexico, and Brazil have witnessed an increase in their disposable incomes, which in turn is changing the standard of living in these economies. The ties of these developing economies with the global markets have got stronger over the past decades. Better living standards mean more engagement with the economies of the developed nations, therefore, more leisure and business activities. The expanding middle class in these developing economies has been responsible for the growth of their aviation industry. The growing aviation sector continues to generate demand for more passenger aircraft. After several passenger flight crashes in the past, the stress on safety has been more than ever, thereby generating demand for passenger aircraft equipped with flight tracking systems. Over the recent years, the regulatory bodies have also come up with high-level safety standards. Although the flight tracking systems have high installation costs, most airlines have these tracking systems installed on the planes of their fleets to assure safe travel for their passengers, a major part of which is the rapidly growing ranks of middle-class air passengers. The emerging middle class in the developing economies continues to rise and, therefore, poses lucrative opportunities for the growth of the global flight tracking system market.

• High Installation Cost

Flight tracking systems are complex systems utilizing several technologies, including wireless sensor networks, high-speed communications, artificial intelligence, and fault diagnostics systems. They need to transmit data to the ground station during aircraft malfunction or failure in real-time. However, some of the newly manufactured aircraft used for surveying remote areas already come equipped with such tracking systems. The levels of safety and sophistication that the flight tracking systems offer reflect their high installation cost. Based on the platform, some of the airlines in the US have invested approximately USD 120,000 per plane in their fleets. However, some of the newly manufactured aircraft used for surveying remote areas already come equipped with tracking system hardware. The high installation cost of the flight tracking systems can be attributed to the complexity of their design to a certain degree. For airlines, upgrading their aircraft fleets with flight tracking systems is highly expensive; these tracking systems offer high safety levels for their customers and add to their revenues. Besides the high installation cost of these systems, other additional operating and maintenance expenses comprise the cost of service, data transmission cost, reporting cost, and certification cost. Therefore, it can be understood that the growth of the flight tracking system market is primarily restrained by the high installation cost and other related expenses related to the tracking systems.

• Introduction of Advanced Flight Tracking Systems to Bolster Market’s Growth Rate

The flight tracking system market growth is expected to be at a rate of 5.80% over the analysis period (between 2021 and 2027) on account of the introduction of advanced flight tracking systems.

Segment Overview

• Increased Focus on Enhancing Situational Awareness & Safety Levelsto Bolster Demand for ADS-B

The flight tracking system market based on type has been segmented into ADS-B, ACARS, and FANS. The ADS-B segment is forecasted to dominate the market in the coming years during the forecast period. Much of this can be attributed to the increasing focus on enhancing situational awareness and increasing safety and efficiency of air & ground operations in terms of separation, coverage redundancy, and obtaining surveillance data in non-radar areas.

• Growing Demand for New Commercial Aircraft to Propel the Demand for Flight Tracking Systems in Fixed-Wing Aircrafts

Based on aircraft type, the global flight tracking system market is segmented into fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Increasing demand for new commercial aircraft is forecasted to drive the demand for flight tracking systems in fixed-wing aircraft. The rapidly rising middle class is one of the primary factors responsible for the growth in the demand for new commercial aircraft, which in turn is driving the need for flight tracking systems in fixed-wing aircraft.

Regional Analysis

• North America Accounted for the Largest Market Share in 2020

North America held the largest market share in 2020 and is likely to grow considerably during the forecast timeline. The region has witnessed extensive investment by the airline companies to enhance the safety levels of the aircraft in their fleets. Moreover, the US military is adopting advanced technologies, particularly in the fields of wireless sensor networks, artificial intelligence, and high-speed communications, and investing in research and development of advanced tracking systems to enhance the capability of their flight tracking systems.

• APAC Races Ahead at the Fastest Rate as China and India Take the Lead

MRFR anticipates the APAC market to exhibit the fastest growth during the conjectured period, thanks to the presence of emerging economies in the region. With the rise in per capita disposable income, the region has witnessed rapidly increasing air passenger traffic over the past decade. The rise of the emerging middle class and increase in demand for aircraft is expected to drive aviation growth, thereby increasing the demand for flight tracking systems in the region. During the study period, the region is expected to generate more than 40% of the global demand for new aircraft, the majority of which is likely to be from rising economies in the region, such as China and India. After the Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappearance incident (March 2014), the regulatory authorities have been more concerned with safety levels than ever. The rising concern for flight safety is likely to fuel the flight tracking system market growth during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

• Significant Investments by Players to Intensify Competition

The flight tracking system market is anticipated to grow significantly in the coming years due to increasing demand for new aircraft and focus on ensuring flight safety and constant aircraft monitoring. The global flight tracking system market is characterized by the presence of several international and regional vendors. The global market is highly competitive, with all the players trying to gain maximum market share. Frequent changes in government policies, intense competition, and government regulations are the key factors that impact the global market growth. The vendors compete based on cost, product quality, and reliability.

List of Key Companies Covered in this Report

• Airbus SAS (NAVBLUE) (Netherlands)


• ACR Electronics Inc. (US)


• Aireon (US)


• AirNav Systems LLC (US)


• Blue Sky Network (US)


• FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (Canada)


• Garmin Ltd. (US)


• Honeywell International Inc. (US)


• Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US)


• SITA (Switzerland)


• IBM Corporation (US)


• Spider Tracks Limited (New Zealand)


• Sabre (US)


• Lufthansa Systems (Germany)

Recent Developments

• November 2020 –Honeywell International Inc. has released a redesigned FalconConnect portal for Dassault FalconConnect customers.


• December 2019 –Airbus SAS' NAVBLUE, together with AirSense, FlightAware, and Aireon, launched an enhanced N-Tracking solution for flight-following and situationalawareness.


• November 2019 –Aireon signed a contract with the Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP) to provide space-based ADS-B surveillance service. The contract enabled the former to offer enhanced safety and efficiency to pilots.


• July 2019– Aireon signed a contract with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to provide a space-based ADS-B surveillance service in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata’s oceanic airspaces. The contract enabled AAI to offer enhanced safety to pilots and passengers.


• May 2018 – Honeywell International Inc. expanded its range of GoDirect connected services to deliver improved flight support within its signature program, GoDirect Flight. By using the new integrated services, business aviation operators were benefited from improved flight planning and in-flight communications through Honeywell's GoDirect Flight Planning, GoDirect Weather applications, and GoDirect Flight Tracker.


• March 2018 – Garmin Ltd. introduced the GDL 50 portable ADS-B traffic and weather receiver to display on select portables and mobile devices.

Report Overview

Scope of the Report

The scope of the report highlights drivers, opportunities, restraints, and challenges surrounding the global market. With easy-to-comprehend segmentation that includes type, aircraft type, enduser, and region, MRFR projections are on the basis of historical as well as expected trends. Major firms active in the global market have been profiled as well, paired with the top strategies employed by them to remain competitive in the industry.

Segmentation Table

Type

• 
  ADS-B
  
  
  
  • Terrestrial
  
  
  • Space-Based
  
  
  
  


• ACARS


• FANS

Aircraft Type

• Fixed-Wing


• Rotary-Wing

End User

• Commercial


• Military