Global Impact of Digital Transformation in Commercial Aviation, 2017

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Intense competition in the commercial aviation sector has led industry stakeholders to create new business models to compete heavily on price by limiting margins and improving cost efficiencies. Connected aviation is the central theme around which digital transformation initiatives are evolving to achieve the competitive advantages and differentiate in new ways. Digital transformation initiatives will continue to grow through applications such as digital flight path optimization, predictive maintenance and optimization of aircraft systems, among others. Airlines are inclined toward a passenger-centric approach to cater to the needs of the connected traveler.

Commercial aviation is going through a significant phase of transformation resulting in OEMs developing digital platforms, emerging ecosystems, and new applications. Aviation stakeholders are poised to digitally transform their businesses, and accrue benefits resulting in enhanced business performance and efficient operations through agility, greater integration of systems, and transparency at every stage. Connectivity is becoming more prevalent in the commercial aviation ecosystem, enabling the rapid increase in experimenting potential applications of artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud, IoT, cybersecurity, mobility and blockchain components, which are the key aspects of digital transformation across the aviation ecosystem.

As big data and connectivity reach critical thresholds, the key focus of aviation stakeholders are to leverage on the technology to achieve maximum benefits and add value. Nearly all the segments of commercial aviation are being digitally transformed, the impact of which is evident across the supply chain with improved products and services, enhanced passenger experience both in-flight and in airport, and most importantly, greater operational efficiencies across the board through reduced maintenance, operations, and services costs.

This study will benefit those who are interested in learning about the impact of digital transformation in commercial aviation, the technological evolution that is happening, and the implications of those. This study discusses the key aspects of digital transformation and identifies areas of opportunities in the commercial aviation industry and also areas where digital transformation will potentially add value in terms of helping with the realization of digitalization in the industry. All aerospace industry participants and the rest of the industry verticals will benefit from this research as this is a visionary study investigating the big picture perspectives of digital transformation and how it is looking to revolutionize the rest of the industries across the globe.

Technology companies who are looking to feed into the digital transformation megatrend across industries will also benefit from this study as they will get to understand their potential role in the future. This research is aimed at identifying transformation in the industry ecosystem and emerging growth opportunities available to market participants to convert the transformation to opportunities for revenue/market share growth.