According to the 2020 edition of Deloitte's Global Aerospace and Defence Industry Outlook, commercial aircraft manufacturing is going to reach 1,900 aircraft compared with the 1,450 estimated in 2019 – a 30% increase.

In particular, the outlook highlights the positive forecast for the regional jet industry. Regional jet demand is expected to increase considerably in the next 20 years, up to 5,000 aircraft. The production growth will mainly involve the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Latin America regions, due to the increase of travellers – for both business and leisure purposes – and the resulting demand for more regional connections.

Further, innovation in the aerospace sector looks set to follow three paths:

  • Electric-powered aircraft – established companies like Rolls Royce, Safran and various start-ups aim to reduce emissions, flight noise and costs, so they have begun to develop electric propulsion systems to tackle the increasing levels of CO2 emissions relating to the growing air transport demand worldwide.
  • Urban air mobility (UAM) – the development of UAM, especially passenger drones, is expected to grow in the near future in parallel with the need to resolve a number of challenges relating to these new means of transport, such as new regulations, new infrastructure and enhanced traffic management systems.
  • Automated flight decks – this equipment will reduce the need for and lead to a related cost-cutting for air carriers. This automation development is also expected to solve the shortage of pilots, which in the next few years will become an issue for airlines due to the continuous increase of flight operations worldwide.

According to Deloitte's outlook, these are the main goals that the aviation industry must address in terms of technology and digital processes, with the aim of improving productivity and efficiency to meet the high expectations placed on the sector.