The Aircraft Electronics Association has released its 2022 year-end Avionics Market Report, showing that total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales for the year amounted to $2,877,281,308 or more than $2.8 billion as reported by the participating companies. The dollar amount represented a 21.5 per cent increase in total year-end sales compared to 2021, which is the largest annual percentage increase in the 11-year history of the report.

During the fourth-quarter months of October, November and December, sales increased 31.2 per cent compared to the same time frame one year ago, marking the largest quarterly year-over-year percentage increase in the report's history. Fourth-quarter sales increased 7.2 per cent sequentially from the third quarter of 2022 and marked the tenth consecutive quarter of increasing sales.

The dollar amount reported, using the net sales price rather than the manufacturer's suggested retail price, includes all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales, including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and non-certified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services.

Of the more than $2.8 billion in sales in 2022, 48.2 per cent came from the retrofit market, namely avionics equipment installed after original production, while forward-fit sales or avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production amounted to 51.8 per cent of sales.

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America, namely the US and Canada, and other international markets, 74.9 per cent of the 2022 sales volume occurred in North America, while 25.1 per cent took place in other international markets.

“We have seen yearly sales rebound the last two years despite supply chain constraints and a tight labour market,” says AEA president and CEO Mike Adamson. “While it's encouraging to see a record-breaking percentage increase in year-over-year avionics sales, the industry is still rebounding from the economic impact of the pandemic. The $2.8 billion in sales for 2022 falls short short of the 2019 year-end sales when industry notched a record $3 billion just prior to the international health crisis, but we are trending in the right direction with positive gains over the past 10 quarters.”