General description
Aviation refers to any activity, industry, and regulation associated with aircraft, from airlines, aircraft manufacturers,
aviation administration bodies, ground support services, etc. There are a large number of companies and government bodies
involved in the industry, making it a very complex one.
The industry today
Technological innovation that has contributed immensely towards the industry’s growth, and hence, the number
of market segments in civil aviation. The largest one is obviously the scheduled airline market. Another one the general aviation
segment, which covers a huge range of aviation activities, such as chartered flights, flight training, hang gliding, air photography,
flights for emergency purposes, etc.
In the past, there were many airlines and aircraft manufacturers. However, due to various global economic problems, such as
the oil crisis of the 1970’s and various economic problems afterwards, the number of those companies decreased, either
through mergers and acquisitions or bankruptcy. As a result, there are only 5 major civil aircraft manufacturers left:
