Photo: Courtesy of Airbus China

Airbus on Thursday said that the center of gravity for after-sale services is shifting eastward, with China becoming the largest market by value—projected to grow from $24.8 billion in 2025 to $63.8 billion by 2044.

The global services forecast said that the increases of after-sale services in China is supported by off-wing maintenance, on-wing maintenance, modifications & upgrades, digital & connectivity and training, of which, the market value of off-wing maintenance, the largest after-sale segment driven by an increasing number of shop visits due to an ageing fleet, is projected to increase from $17 billion in 2025 to $44.8 billion in 2044.

In terms of the on-wing maintenance -- ranging from frequent light inspections to heavy checks on aircraft, representing routine maintenance growth in line with the overall growing fleet will increase from $3 billion in 2025 to $6.8 billion in 2044.

The digital & connectivity, with the aim of enabling smarter, more connected operations, from predictive maintenance and fuel-saving flight paths to seamless passenger experience, will be the fastest-growing sector, with the market value projected to reach $1.4 billion in 2025 to $5.1 billion in 2044, the report said.

Airbus identified that airlines are also accelerating digital transformation journey with new steps toward an interconnected ecosystem.

In China, over 9,000 aircraft will be equipped with in-flight connectivity services, leading to more efficient operations on the ground, in the skies and along the full aircraft lifecycle, saving more than $2.2 billion with digital tech ops and $5.7 billion through fuel cost reduction while the passengers will get better onboard experiences.

China is the largest market for Airbus in terms of air fleet in the world. The year 2025 represented a strong growth in China led by the domestic market with the passenger volume growing by 17 percent compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, while international traffic continues to accelerate with over 90 percent recovery from the 2019 level, said the report.

Global Times