Commercial Aircraft Interior Lighting Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Airlines are adopting new technologies to enhance passengers’ experience during flights. Of the total orders received by Boeing and Airbus in the past three years, almost 65-70% of the orders were for narrow-body aircraft. In terms of deliveries, in 2019, narrow-body aircraft dominated the market. The wide-body aircraft segment is losing its share because of lesser orders. However, the wide-body aircraft segment of the commercial aircraft interior lighting market is expected to improve due to the increasing cabin refurbishment programs for the aging wide-body aircraft. Airlines, like Emirates, British Airways, and Etihad, serving luxury and premium passengers, may register the highest expenditures on cabin lighting in the coming years. In 2018, the Spanish low-cost operator, Volotea, selected STG Aerospace’s full-color Airbus liTeMood LED cabin lighting system for its A319 aircraft. In total, 45 liTeMood systems were planned to be installed on the first batch. Also, as LCC operators continue to prefer single-aisle aircraft, the narrow-body aircraft segment may experience the highest growth during the forecast period.

Bombardier and Boeing are two major OEMs based in North America that manufacture commercial aircraft. However, the demand for cabin lighting is not only generated by aircraft OEMs but also from airlines as part of retrofit programs. For instance, in 2018, Alaska Airlines selected STG Aerospace for installing the next-generation saf-Tglo SSUL photoluminescent emergency escape path marking system (EEPMS) on 116 aircraft across its retrofitted and new Boeing 737-700, MAX9, and Airbus A320 family fleets. Delta Airlines and American Airlines also plan to replace the lighting systems on some of their aging aircraft fleets. However, the demand for commercial aircraft interior lighting may be highest from the Asia-Pacific region, wherein several airlines plan to retrofit their new aircraft with advanced lighting systems to enhance passengers’ experience during flight.