Competitive Intelligence for Aerospace Companies
Track which competitor wins a place on the next aircraft, sells cheaper spare parts or books the launch you wanted. Then answer before SpaceX, a parts maker or the aircraft maker itself takes the work. The complete guide for sales, marketing and business development teams at aerospace and space companies.
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Definition
What is competitive intelligence for aerospace companies?
For an aerospace company, competitive intelligence follows which competitors win places on new airliners, approvals for parts, launch and satellite customers, and certificates for drones and air taxis. Much of it sits in public records: aviation authority databases, order lists, launch licences, satellite filings and results. It tells you where to compete, how to price and when to move.
Parts and systems suppliers compete for a place on each new airliner, and the aircraft makers, often called OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), have become competitors too. In December 2025, Boeing bought back Spirit AeroSystems, which builds its 737 fuselages, and Airbus took over the Spirit sites that build parts of its A350 and A220. The prize lasts: Airbus ended 2025 with 8,754 aircraft on order, about 11 years of deliveries at its current rate.
Maintenance, repair and overhaul companies, known as MRO, face two competitors at once. Engine makers keep more of the service work: GE Aerospace's engine services revenue rose 26% in 2025. And cheaper replacement parts win airline buyers. The FAA approves these under a Parts Manufacturer Approval, or PMA. HEICO alone holds about 20,000 and adds 400 to 550 a year.
Launch and satellite companies compete with one company above all. SpaceX flew about half of the world's 329 orbital launch attempts in 2025, by astronomer Jonathan McDowell's count. Its Starlink network ended the year with more than 9 million customers, so satellite operators now sell against Starlink's prices and launch companies against its schedule.
Air taxi and drone makers race for approvals as much as for customers. The first is a type certificate: the aviation authority's approval of a new aircraft design. China's EHang holds all the certificates China requires to fly passengers, and delivered 221 air taxis in 2025. Joby started test flights with its first aircraft built for FAA certification in March 2026. In the US, new foreign-made drone models have been blocked since December 2025, when the FCC added them to its Covered List.
Use cases
How aerospace companies use competitive intelligence
In aerospace, a customer's choice can last for decades. Competitive intelligence shows who else is in the running before that choice is made.
Winning a place on new aircraft
Airbus, Boeing and their peers pick most suppliers once per model, for decades. Track which competitors win each new model or upgrade, and why the maker chose them.
Pricing spare parts
A cheaper approved replacement for your part can win airline buyers within months. Check fresh approvals against your part numbers, and price where a replacement can't follow.
Reading production rates
Monthly delivery figures show how fast each airliner model is built. Set them next to competitors' factory and hiring news to see who can supply the next rate increase.
Following certification
A new part, cabin, drone or air taxi needs approval before anyone can sell it. Certificates and test stages show where competitors will sell next, often a year or more ahead.
Winning launch and satellite customers
Launch schedules, satellite filings and customer announcements show who has the capacity and the frequencies. Compare prices and dates before each customer decides.
Hiring scarce engineers
Competitors chase the same certification, stress and software engineers. Their job postings show the programmes they staff, the sites they open and the pay you must beat.
In practice
Competitive intelligence examples for aerospace companies
These moves all leave a public record, from an approval to a filing, months before customers act on them. Plan your answer while the customer is still deciding.
Illustrative examples · CompetitorX is a fictional competitor
The competitor move
CompetitorX wins FAA approval for a cheaper replacement of a part you make.
Your move
Look up which aircraft it fits and which airlines fly them. Call those airlines first, with a price, warranty or exchange offer the replacement can't match.
Before their next parts order.
The competitor move
An airline orders 60 aircraft at an airshow, and CompetitorX announces its seats are on them.
Your move
Check whether the order is firm and when deliveries start. Ask the airline why CompetitorX won, then offer the cabin items it has not chosen yet.
Within a month.
The competitor move
The aircraft maker you supply buys CompetitorX to build your part in-house.
Your move
Read the maker's results and calls for the reason: cost, quality or capacity. Offer what it will still buy outside, such as repairs and spares, and look for other models to fill your plant.
Before your contract comes up for renewal.
The competitor move
CompetitorX asks the FCC to serve US customers with 3,000 satellites in your frequency bands.
Your move
Read the application for its bands, orbits and dates. Ask your spectrum team whether to file comments, and show customers how your service compares.
Before the comment period closes.
The competitor move
CompetitorX gets a launch licence for a second site and doubles its planned launches.
Your move
Compare its past promises with what it actually flew. Tell customers which dates you can guarantee, and price the missions it cannot fly yet.
Before your next customer signs.
The competitor move
CompetitorX, an air taxi maker, starts flight tests with FAA pilots.
Your move
Find out which stage it has reached and which cities it has signed. Update your own timeline for partners and investors, and approach the cities it has not reached.
Before your next funding round.
What to know
What to know about each aerospace competitor
Approval databases and order lists cover the first two groups within a few hours. Capacity and prices take longer: ask your field and sales teams.
Products and customers
- Which airliners, rockets, satellites or air taxis use its products?
- Which airlines, aircraft makers or operators buy from it?
- Which new models or customers did it win this year?
Approvals
- Which certificates and parts approvals does it hold?
- Which approvals is it still waiting for, and since when?
- Have safety directives hit any of its products?
Capacity
- How many units can it deliver a year, and is it late?
- Where is it opening sites or hiring engineers?
- Which of its own suppliers could slow it down?
Price and service
- What does it charge for spare parts, repairs or a launch?
- Does it sell parts, service contracts or both?
- What do customers say about its delays and support?
Sources
Where aerospace companies find competitive intelligence
Aviation authorities publish more about competitors than most regulators: who holds approval for which design, part or change. Your own teams add what customers say.
What you already hear
- Field service engineers
- They work in customers' hangars and see which competitors' parts and repairs are fitted. Ask them monthly what changed.
- Sales and support
- Airlines and operators tell you who else quoted, and sometimes at what price. Record each lost quote with the winner's name.
- Airshow teams
- They meet competitors' customers and walk past their stands. Write up what competitors showed and announced the same week.
- Distributors
- Distributors carry several brands. Ask which competitors' products sell fastest, never what those competitors pay them.
What competitors publish
- Type certificates
- Aviation authorities publish each approved aircraft, engine and air taxi design. The FAA's data sheets list, for example, which engines an airliner may use.
- Supplemental type certificates
- An STC approves a change to an existing design, such as a new cabin, antenna or winglet. The FAA and EASA list each one with its holder and the models it covers.
- Parts approvals
- The FAA's database lists every PMA part with its holder, the aircraft it fits and the original part it replaces. Search it for your own part numbers.
- Airworthiness directives
- When an authority orders a fix, it publishes the directive, and EASA's tool is free to search. A directive on a competitor's product means inspections and unhappy customers.
- Repair station approvals
- The FAA lists approved repair stations with their location and ratings. A competitor's new rating shows which repairs it plans to sell.
- Orders and deliveries
- Airbus and Boeing publish orders and deliveries by model, mostly with customer names. Read them monthly for the production rate of each model you supply.
- Airshow news
- Competitors save new orders, partners and products for the big airshows. Read their press releases, then check which orders turned firm.
- Launch licences and schedules
- The FAA publishes each commercial launch and reentry licence. Launch companies list their upcoming missions, and sometimes the customers, on their own sites.
- Satellite filings
- Operators file new satellite networks with the FCC in the US and with the ITU worldwide, often years before launch. Competitors' objections are public too.
- Company results
- Listed companies report backlog, deliveries and service revenue. On earnings calls, managers discuss production rates, prices and competitors.
- Job ads for engineers
- A run of competitor hiring for certification engineers on one model often comes a year before the approval.
Stay on the right side of the line
Never ask recruits to bring a former employer's drawings, test data or prices. In 2022, a US court sentenced a Chinese intelligence officer to 20 years for trying to obtain GE Aviation's engine fan designs. Showing controlled technical data to a foreign national can count as an export, even inside the US.
Signal vs noise
Which competitor news should change your plans
Aerospace news is full of orders, rockets and prototypes. Act on what changes a customer's choice: an approval, a firm order, a delivery date or a price.
Track
Act within a week
- A new approval for a part or change you sell
- A firm order for an aircraft you supply
- A new airliner choosing its suppliers
- A launch licence or satellite filing in your market
- A safety directive on a competitor's product
Skim
Monthly roll-up
- Memoranda of understanding
- Airshow order totals
- Partnership announcements
- Executive moves
- Emissions targets
Ignore
Unless it repeats
- Renderings of future aircraft
- Air taxi orders with no deposit
- Launch dates with no licence
- Share price moves
- Lists of top suppliers
Airshow orders mislead most. Many are memoranda or options that never turn firm, so wait until the order appears on the maker's monthly list.
Catch aerospace competitors' new products and partners
Get competitors' new product pages, partner deals and job ads before your customers hear about them.
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Distribution
How competitor news moves through an aerospace company
Field engineers and salespeople hear about competitors in customers' hangars and offices. Business development, pricing and strategy decide what to do about it.
What comes in
Field service
Competitors' parts and repairs in customers' hangars.
Sales
Who else quoted, and at what price.
Engineers
New approvals and directives on competitors' products.
Airshow team
What competitors showed and announced.
What goes out
Campaign teamWin plan
Competitors on each model and customer.
PricingPrice list review
Competing parts, replacements and repair prices.
Strategy teamLong-range plan
Competitors' capacity, new models and new entrants.
CertificationApproval plan
Competitors' approvals and test progress.
LeadershipQuarterly business review
Wins, losses and share by model.
Many parts makers update their price list once a year. Bring the latest approved replacements for your products to that meeting.
At space and air taxi startups, founders often follow competitors themselves, and their venture capital investors ask how each one is moving through certification. At larger suppliers, executives weigh the same facts before committing to a new aircraft model. And the product managers planning the next version of a part, satellite or air taxi need the same view.
The deliverable
A competitor map for each market you sell in
Before a campaign for a new airliner, a price review or a launch customer's decision, put every competitor in one format, with the date and source of each line.
01Markets
The aircraft models, orbits or cities where it competes.
02Fleets and customers
Airlines, aircraft makers and operators it supplies.
03Certificates
Type certificates, parts approvals and directives.
04Production rate
Sites, delivery rate and delays.
05Price levels
List prices, discounts and service deals.
06Aftermarket
Spare parts, repairs and approved replacements for its products.
07Partners
Suppliers, distributors and joint ventures.
08Your winning ground
The models and customers where you win against it, and why.
Once a part is on an aircraft, replacing it costs the airline time and new approvals. A competitor switching cost analysis shows what it would take a customer to drop yours.
To set two competing parts, rockets or services side by side, use a competitive product comparison template.
The aerospace calendar
Airshows, results and deliveries across the aerospace year
Airshows, results and the aircraft makers' delivery targets set the aerospace year. Competitors time their news for the same weeks.
- 1
Yearly order totals
January- Airbus and Boeing publish their orders, deliveries and backlog for the past year.
- Compare each model's deliveries with your own forecast.
- 2
Results and spring shows
February to April- Listed companies report the full year. Singapore's airshow opens in February of even years, and MRO Americas, the Aircraft Interiors Expo and the Space Symposium follow in April.
- Note competitors' backlog, service revenue and product launches.
- 3
Paris or Farnborough
June to July- The Paris Air Show runs in June of odd years, and Farnborough runs in July of even years. Most large orders and partner deals are timed for them, and drone and air taxi makers show their latest models there.
- Record competitors' announcements, and check later which orders turned firm.
- 4
Mid-year results
July to October- Listed companies report their half year in late July. Space companies meet at the International Astronautical Congress in the autumn.
- Update competitors' delivery rates and launch plans.
- 5
Dubai and Zhuhai
November- Dubai's airshow runs in November of odd years, and China's Zhuhai show runs in November of even years. Gulf airlines often place large orders in Dubai.
- Watch Chinese suppliers and new entrants there.
- 6
Year-end deliveries
December- Aircraft makers push deliveries out before 31 December to meet their yearly targets.
- Expect rush orders for parts, and requests for next year's prices.
Routine
A competitor routine for approvals, orders and launches
Approvals and launch news move weekly, order lists monthly, and results four times a year. Plan a slot for each, plus one before any major airshow.
Weekly
30 minutes- Check recent approvals and directives for your products and competitors'.
- Read competitors' press releases, launch news and air taxi test updates.
- Log the quotes you lost, and who won them.
Monthly
2 hours- Read Airbus's and Boeing's order and delivery lists.
- Search the latest parts approvals for your part numbers.
- Check this month's satellite filings and launch licences in your market.
Each quarter
4 hours- Read competitors' results for backlog and service revenue.
- Refresh your aerospace competitor maps.
- Report wins, losses and share by model to leadership.
Before an airshow
2 days- List what each competitor is likely to announce.
- Prepare answers for customers who ask about them.
- Book meetings with the customers they are courting.
To place every launch, satellite or air taxi competitor on one page, a landscape map prompt sorts them by market and stage from the notes you paste in.
Freshness
How long aerospace competitor facts stay true
A launch date can slip in days, while a supplier stays on an airliner for decades. Date every fact. When one of the triggers below occurs, check that fact again.
| What you track | Goes stale in | Update it when |
|---|---|---|
| Launch dates | Weeks | A delay, a licence or a failed launch |
| Delivery rates | A month | The makers' monthly delivery figures |
| Order backlog | A quarter | Results day |
| Parts approvals | Months | A fresh approval for your part number |
| Spare parts prices | A year | The yearly price list |
| Air taxi certification stage | Months | A test stage passed, or an approval |
| Satellite plans | Months | A filing or amendment |
| Safety directives | Until the fix is done | A directive or revision |
| Factory capacity | A year | A site opening, hire or acquisition |
| Supplier positions | Until the next model | The next model or upgrade |
Spare parts prices change slowest until a replacement part is approved. From then on, check them monthly.
Metrics
Measuring your position against aerospace competitors
You already track backlog, deliveries and orders against shipments. These three compare you with the competitors you name.
Competitive win rate
won competitive deals ÷ (won + lost competitive deals)
A campaign for a new model, airline or launch customer counts as one deal. Record who won the ones you lost.
Market share
your revenue ÷ total market revenue, same period and same market definition
Work it out per model, orbit or city: your share of the parts fitted to the fleet in service, and of new orders.
Competitive displacement rate
wins where the buyer left a named incumbent ÷ closed deals against that incumbent
Note the airlines and operators you took from a named supplier, such as an engine maker's own service network.
Add one aftermarket number each quarter: the share of your spare parts revenue that already faces an approved replacement.
Pitfalls
Common errors in tracking aerospace competitors
Most errors come from trusting announcements over records, or from watching only the competitors you already know.
Counting airshow orders as sales
Many are memoranda or options. Plan production from the orders the maker lists as firm.
Missing replacements for your parts
Approved replacements reach airlines before your sales team hears. Search the FAA's parts database monthly.
Forgetting the aircraft makers
Your customer can become your competitor. Watch for plants, hires and deals that bring your work in-house.
Ignoring Chinese competitors
EHang already flies passengers in China, and Chinese suppliers grow with China's own airliner. Track them too.
Trusting promised dates
Launch, air taxi and certification dates slip. Compare each competitor's past promises with what it actually delivered.
Comparing list prices only
Launch, repair and parts deals include exchanges, warranties and service terms. Compare the whole offer.
Automation
How to automate competitive intelligence for aerospace companies
Competitors change product pages, announce partners and post job ads every week, and airshow news buries most of it. Few business development teams have the hours to read all of it.
Reading at that pace is a job for a competitive intelligence platform. Flares follows competitors' websites, product pages, job ads, press releases and social media, and singles out what matters for your customers, products or launches. Certification databases, satellite filings, launch licences and order lists are beyond its reach, so keep them in the routine you run by hand.
Competitor alerts
A competitor's product launch, partner deal or customer win, sent to the team that owns that market.
Weekly competitive digest
Competitors' product, partner and hiring news, in one email each Monday morning.
AI competitive analysis reports
A short report on a competitor's products, customers and plans, before a campaign review.
Win aerospace campaigns with fresh competitor facts
Every Monday, Flares sums up competitors' products, partners and hiring, sorted by the markets you sell in.
14-day free trial · 30-second setup
FAQ
Aerospace competitive intelligence FAQ
How do aerospace companies use competitive intelligence?
Aerospace teams rely on competitive intelligence to win places on new airliners, price spare parts, follow competitors' approvals, win launch and satellite customers and hire engineers. Business development follows campaigns, pricing follows replacement parts, and strategy follows new entrants such as air taxi makers.
How do you do a competitor analysis in aerospace?
Start with the aircraft models, orbits or cities you sell into, and list all the companies that supply the same thing there. For each, record its customers, approvals, capacity and prices, all dated. A competitive landscape template puts them on one page by market.
What is a PMA part?
A PMA part is a replacement part made by a company other than the original maker and approved by the FAA under a Parts Manufacturer Approval. Airlines buy them because they usually cost less. HEICO says its PMA parts are the functional equivalent of the original ones, at lower prices. Track which PMA parts replace yours, because they change competitor pricing in the aftermarket.
What is a supplemental type certificate?
A supplemental type certificate, or STC, is the approval to change an aircraft design that already has a type certificate. Cabin interiors, antennas, winglets and engine changes often go through one. The FAA and EASA publish each STC with its holder and the aircraft it covers, so you can tell which competitors can sell into which fleets.
Where can you look up a competitor's FAA approvals?
Use the FAA's Dynamic Regulatory System, which is free. Search type certificates, supplemental type certificates and parts approvals by holder name, then by make and model. For parts, the record shows the original part number each approved replacement stands in for. For Europe, check EASA's lists and its airworthiness directives tool.
Are airshow orders firm orders?
Not always. Airshow totals mix firm orders with memoranda of understanding, letters of intent and options, which may never turn firm. Read the announcement for its wording, then check the aircraft maker's own order list in the following months. Treat a memorandum as one of many market signals, not as a sale.
How do aircraft makers choose their suppliers?
They pick most suppliers for a new model years before its first flight, then keep them for the life of the model. Cost, technology, capacity and a supplier's past delivery record decide it. That long contract is a competitive moat, so the real competition happens before the next model or major upgrade.
How can repair shops compete with engine makers?
Engine makers sell long service contracts with their engines and keep more and more of the work: GE Aerospace's engine services revenue rose 26% in 2025. Independent shops win on speed, price and approved replacement parts. Show airlines that competitive differentiation in turnaround times they can check.
How do you track competitors' satellite plans?
Read their filings. US market access goes through the FCC, where applications and objections are public, and the ITU publishes the satellite networks countries file for operators. Filings often come years before launch, and they show a competitor strategy long before any press release does.
How do space companies compete with SpaceX?
Few compete on price alone. SpaceX flew about half of the world's orbital launch attempts in 2025, and Starlink passed 9 million customers. Competitors win on dates SpaceX cannot offer, orbits it does not serve, national rules or services built for one market. Start from a competitor's customers: who chose SpaceX, and who did not.
When will air taxis carry passengers?
In China, they already do. EHang has China's type, production and operating certificates, and delivered 221 pilotless air taxis in 2025. In the US, Joby began test flights in March 2026 with its first aircraft built for FAA certification, and FAA pilots fly it next. Track each competitor's certification stage and launch cities, not its announced launch date.
Are drones made outside the US still allowed there?
Drones already approved remain usable. In December 2025, the FCC added drones and drone parts made in foreign countries to its Covered List, which blocks approval of new models. Exemptions depend on a further security review. For drone makers outside the US, that changes who you meet in American tenders and stores.
How do you spot new competitors in aerospace?
Watch funding rounds, airshow exhibitor lists, new approvals and engineering job ads in your niche. A competitor discovery prompt lists the companies that sell what you sell, including the ones your team has never met.
Is competitive intelligence legal for aerospace companies?
Yes, as long as you work from public records, customer feedback and what you observe yourself. Never ask recruits for drawings, test data or prices from their last employer: trade secret theft is a crime in most countries. Showing controlled technical data to a foreign national can count as an export, even inside the US. And agree nothing with a competitor on prices or hiring limits.
What tools do aerospace companies use for competitive intelligence?
Most sources are free: FAA and EASA databases, order lists, launch licences, satellite filings and results. Paid fleet and market databases add detail, and competitive intelligence software reports changes to competitors' sites, products and hiring every day.
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