Although the aviation industry has developed under the stimulation of wars and arms races, in peacetime countries use military aviation technology for civilian purposes. Airplanes provide humans with a fast, convenient, economical, safe and comfortable means of transportation. International flights have replaced ocean liners and become the main tool for people's intercontinental travel, which has closer exchanges among people around the world. Domestic air passenger transport has replaced railway passenger transport in some developed countries. Large jetliners and communication satellites are considered two important pillars of the information society.
With the development of the world economy and tourism, air transportation in various countries accounts for an increasing proportion of the transportation structure. The development of the air transport industry has become an important indicator of a country's modernization (especially transportation modernization) and informatization. By the end of 1992, there were more than 1,200 airlines in the world with aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 9 tons or more; there were 13,790 commercial aviation passenger and cargo transport aircraft in use, including 10,750 jets, with 1,760 international routes; that year's transportation There were 1.17 billion passengers and 17 million tons of cargo transported; the total revenue of airlines operating scheduled flights around the world was US$212 billion; 786 newly delivered jet transport aircraft and 201 turboprop regional aircraft were delivered that year.
In addition to regular flights for passenger and cargo transportation, civil aircraft can also be used for industrial and agricultural production service flights, taxi flights, commuter flights, group and individual business flights, and sports flights. and tourist flights, etc. This type of flight is collectively referred to as general aviation. The number of aircraft and helicopters used for general aviation around the world is quite large, and the ratio between them and the number of civil aircraft used for scheduled flights on routes is about 9:1. Its flight hours are approximately twice those of scheduled flights.
It is precisely because various types of aircraft and helicopters, the direct products of the aviation industry, have played an increasingly important role in the national economy and social development that the aviation industry has shifted from mainly military services to a combination of military and civilian services. , the production and sales of civil aircraft account for an increasing proportion of the total production and sales of aircraft in various countries. Among the aviation industry companies in some developed countries, the civil aircraft manufacturing industry has begun to form independent professional companies or divisions. The aircraft industry gradually took shape.
In terms of manufacturing mainline aircraft used on international and domestic routes between major cities, the American Boeing Company, McDonnell Douglas, and the European Airbus Company have monopolized the world market. Among them, Boeing's products occupy the world market every year 50%~6Q% share. Boeing has developed mainline aircraft such as the Boeing 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, and 777, with a passenger capacity of 108 to 500 people. It is the world's number one aviation industry enterprise. While McDonnell Douglas is responsible for manufacturing a large number of military aircraft, it also produces 1) C-9, DC-10, MD-80, MI-90 and MD-11, etc., with mainline aircraft with 109-350 seats.
European Airbus Industries is a joint venture formed by the four major European aircraft companies - French Aerospace, British Aerospace, German Daimler-Benz Aerospace and Spanish CASA. It is developed There are A300, A310, A320, A330 and A340, etc., ranging from 150 to 450 seat mainline aircraft. The company has received funding from the governments of its member companies in terms of research and development funds. Each member company is both a shareholder and a subcontractor. Airbus's market share now ranks second in the world. In addition, Russia is also relatively strong in mainline aircraft. According to statistics, as of the beginning of 2019, about 3,400 mainline aircraft produced by the Soviet Union were still in use around the world, accounting for 26% of the total number of mainline aircraft in the world, of which about 1,400 were in use domestically. .
There are far more regional aircraft manufacturers than mainline aircraft. Those that can develop 19- to 100-seat regional aircraft include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other "aviation powers". Countries with relatively developed aviation industries such as the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and Japan, as well as developing countries such as China, Brazil, Indonesia, and the Czech Republic, South Korea and Taiwan are also interested in joining the competition. In the 1970s and 1980s, the 30-seat regional aircraft was a hot spot for development; by the 1990s, the 70- to 100-seat class became the focus of competition. High-speed regional aircraft using jet engines are already available.
The manufacturing of regional aircraft is far lower in technical complexity than mainline passenger aircraft, so it has become the starting point for countries to enter the international aircraft market, making the current competition in this field very fierce.
There are many countries that produce general aviation aircraft. More than half of the world's output is produced by American manufacturers. This is because the United States has the largest market demand. For example, in 1979, the United States produced 17,000 aircraft in one year. shelf. The former Soviet Union, France, Poland, Japan, Brazil and other countries are also quite capable in the development of general aviation aircraft. From the 1980s to the present, the production and sales of general aviation aircraft in the world have not grown much. The main reason is that the demand in developed countries has declined, so manufacturers have set their sights on developing countries with rapid development. The production and sales of helicopters had a golden age in the early 1980s, due to offshore oil development and the widespread adoption of helicopters in various industries. Later, due to the oversupply of oil and the slowdown in world economic development, the pace of helicopter production also slowed down. The United States, France, the Soviet Union, Germany and Italy are the major powers in helicopter production. Many developing countries have adopted the method of assembling light and medium helicopters locally by purchasing production patents.
The world civil aircraft market is affected by the world economy and has considerable fluctuations, but the general trend is development. Due to the gradual retirement of aircraft bought during the peak period of civil aircraft procurement in the late 1990s and restrictions on aircraft noise levels, it is expected that about 4,000 mainline aircraft will be retired in the next 20 years, coupled with the greater demand for aircraft due to economic development. Foreign authorities believe that the world will need about 12,000 large jet passenger aircraft in the next 20 years, and about 5,500 before 2000. Among them, the Asia-Pacific region, which has the fastest economic development, will see the fastest growth in demand. In order to adapt to the new development of the world economy in the afternoon of 2000, future civil aircraft will gradually include more technologically advanced super-large passenger aircraft with more than 600 seats and advanced supersonic passenger aircraft.