Europe Freighter Aircraft Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Europe freighter aircraft market is projected to grow with a CAGR of more than 4% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The Europe freighter aircraft market demand is primarily driven by factors such as rise in new trade relationships among economies as well as fleet modernization plans of the airlines and cargo delivery providers.
• According to IATA, Europe witnessed a decline of 16% air cargo (by value) in 2019 due to slower global economic growth, trade tensions, and a strong decline in demand from the automotive industry. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in an international ban on passenger travel, few airlines have shifted their focus towards air cargo transportation. Few airlines have temporarily converted their passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft for transportation of medical and pharmaceutical equipment.

Key Market Trends

Derivative of Non-Cargo Aircraft Segment is Anticipated to Dominate the Market

The derivative of the non-cargo aircraft segment currently dominates the market and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. This is mainly due to the increasing preference of the airlines and cargo operators to modernize their fleet of freighter aircraft. Passenger to freight (P2F) conversion is a low-cost solution compared to the dedicated cargo aircraft. In February 2020, Elbe Flugzeugwerke, a joint venture of Airbus and ST Engineering received a supplementary type certificate from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for Airbus A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa, and Finnair are converting their passenger aircraft cabins to create space for additional cargo in the aircraft. This will help the airlines to expand cargo capacity for medical applications. Such orders for new conversions are anticipated to bolster the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Germany is Expected to Witness Significant Growth During the Forecast Period

Germany is one of the major air cargo hubs in Europe region with Frankfurt Airport, Leipzig/Halle Airport, and Cologne Bonn Airport handling the highest cargo in the country. DHL International and Lufthansa are the major freighter service providers in the region. Lufthansa has received two B777F aircraft in 2019 and the airline is expected to receive new freighter aircraft through 2020 as part of its fleet modernization plans. Also, Lufthansa is replacing its cabin interior on a few of its passenger aircraft to create space for extra cargo. As a part of fleet renewal and e-commerce-led Strategy 2025, in 2018, DHL placed an order for 14 Boeing 777F aircraft. Four of these aircraft were delivered in 2019, six aircraft are planned to be delivered in 2020 and four more are planned to be added by 2021. Such expansion plans, and growing demand for air cargo transportation in the coming years, is expected to accelerate the growth of freighter aircraft market in the country.

Competitive Landscape

The freighter aircraft market in Europe has two types of players, OEMs who manufacture freighter aircraft and P2F conversion companies. Some of the prominent players operating in the Europe freighter aircraft market are The Boeing Company, ATR, Airbus SE, Textron Inc., and Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. The provision of new certification and approvals from EASA to convert new passenger aircraft models into freighter aircraft is anticipated to help the companies increase their presence as well as market share during the forecast period. In addition to this, the fragmentation in the market is set to increase with new players entering the market, who provide aircraft conversion services. For instance, in May 2020, Lufthansa Technik announced that it is currently converting an Airbus A380 to freight version (temporary conversion of) for an undisclosed customer. Such development is anticipated to increase market fragmentation in the coming years.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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