Aircraft Soft Goods Market Analysis | 2019-2024

Market Insights

The Global Aircraft Soft Goods Market was estimated at US$ 626.4 Million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 4.9% over the next five years to reach US$ 837.8 Million in 2024.

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What are Aircraft Soft Goods?

Soft goods deliver aesthetic value to aircraft interiors and assist airlines in enhancing the level of comfort and feel to passengers along with improved noise absorption and damping of aircraft vibration. In the last few decades, significant investment from the airline industry towards the improvement and maintenance of soft goods has been witnessed for aesthetically pleasing, compact, and innovative aircraft interiors. The aircraft soft goods market has had a disruptive journey over the eons. For instance, natural leather, one of the widely used seating materials, is significantly being phased out with synthetic leather. All the major tier players are working closely with the aircraft OEMs to develop advanced lightweight interior systems that offer excellent aesthetics and aid carriers in improving the overall customer experience. Nylon fabric is the perennial choice in fabricating soft goods products as the material not only offers the advantages of being light in weight but also improves the overall cabin aesthetics

Market Dynamics

The organic growth of the aircraft industry is the major driver of the sustainable demand for lightweight material in the aircraft industry. Boeing and Airbus had a combined total order backlog of 13,048 commercial aircraft as of 31 December 2018. This huge pile of order backlogs of commercial aircraft will allow both airframers to roll out their aircraft continuously for the next nine years at current build rates.  However, they have strategically been raising the production rates of their key commercial aircraft programs to deliver aircraft to their widespread clients in a shorter period. Also, they have been introducing fuel-efficient variants of their best-selling aircraft programs to address the biggest requirement of the airline industry, which is fuel-efficient aircraft. This is likely to engender a greater demand for soft goods in the OE segment in the foreseeable future.

Cabin upgrade is another factor creating a significant opportunity for soft goods. In general, first- and business-class cabins are more frequently refurbished than economy-class cabins. Also, airline's profitability is having a major impact on discretionary spending for upgrades. Lower crude oil prices allowed airlines to make more profit, thus, spending more on cabin upgrades, such as interior modification and replacement of carpets, seats, and curtains.

Safety is another factor that is boosting the demand for soft goods in aircraft cabin interiors. For instance, aircraft seats are required to withstand a dynamic 16g force. In the 16g test, two distinct dynamic tests are conducted, which ultimately stimulate the loads that could be expected in an impact-survivable accident. This helps the passengers to survive in case of a fatal accident. The selection of materials for the seating application largely depends upon such regulations. Nylon yarn excels in most of the parameters with the advantage of being light in weight.

Segments Analysis

By Aircraft Type

The global aircraft soft goods market is segmented based on the aircraft type as Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Military Aircraft, and Helicopter. Commercial aircraft are likely to remain the growth engine of the market during the forecast period. Increasing production rates of key programs, such as B737, A320 family, B787, and A350XWB; market entry of new players, such as COMAC and Irkut; an introduction of variants of existing best-selling aircraft programs, such as B737 max, A320neo, and B777x; and increasing demand for cabin retrofit of the large aircraft fleet are likely to offer a sustainable growth platform for soft goods in this segment in the coming years.

By Product Type

The aircraft soft goods market is segmented into Seats, Carpets, Curtains, and Others. Seat is likely to remain the most dominant segment of the global aircraft soft goods market over the next five years, driven by a high demand for seats for OE as well as retrofit in the commercial aircraft segment coupled with an increasing demand for comfortable, aesthetically excellent, and lightweight seat and armrest covers. Whereas, carpet, another considerable segment, is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period, driven by a large surface area of aircraft flooring.

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By Material Type

The aircraft soft goods market is bifurcated into Nylon Yarn, Natural Leather, Synthetic Leather, Wool/Nylon Blend Fabric, Polyester Fabric, and Others. Nylon yarn is the most widely used material in the market and is likely to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. It is considered an ideal material for producing carpets, seat covers, and curtains for aircraft interiors. Wool/nylon blend fabric, natural leather, synthetic leather, and polyester fabric are the other major materials used in the manufacturing of soft goods for the aircraft industry. They also offer sizeable growth opportunities in the coming years.

By End-User Type

The aftermarket segment is projected to maintain its dominance and is also likely to grow at a higher rate during the forecast period. The rising fleet size of commercial aircraft and increasing demand for advanced lightweight soft goods products to replace the old ones are the major driving forces behind the significant growth of the aftermarket segment.

Regional Insights

Based on the regions, North America is projected to remain the largest market during the forecast period, driven by both OE as well as aftermarket segments. The USA is the growth engine of the region’s market and has the presence of almost all the major aircraft OEMs including Boeing, Airbus, Cessna, and Gulfstream. Rising commercial aircraft fleet size in the region is likely to further boost the overall demand for soft goods in the aircraft industry in the foreseeable future.

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Asia-Pacific is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period, driven by a host of factors including increasing demand for commercial aircraft to support rising passenger traffic, the opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus in China, upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (COMAC C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ), and rising aircraft fleet size.

Key Players

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, soft goods suppliers, distributors, OEMs, and airlines.

The key soft goods companies are-

• Anker
• Botany Weaving Mill Ltd.
• Desso Group
• E-Leather Ltd.
• Haeco
• Lantal Textile AG
• Mohawk Group
• Tapis Corporation.

The key aircraft OEMs & Airlines are-

• Boeing
• Airbus
• Bombardier
• ATR
• Embraer
• COMAC
• Irkut
• Sukhoi
• Air Canada
• British Airways
• United Airlines. 

The regional expansion, the formation of long-term contracts, and the development of innovative soft goods are some of the major strategies adopted by major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Research Methodology

This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s aircraft soft goods market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate the growth strategies to expedite their growth process.

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market.

What Deliverables Will You Get in this Report?

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to three players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players)

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

Custom Research: Stratview Research offers custom research services across sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry to sales@stratviewresearch.com