Industry overview
What is shaping aerospace
Aerospace brings together airlines, airports, MRO providers and component suppliers, with safety, reliability and certification at the centre of every decision.
- Passenger experience is a key differentiator for airlines and airports
- MRO and component buying depends on certification and turnaround
- Skilled talent is in short supply
Client background
A state tourism and aviation department, working in A hill state in North India. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A state tourism and aviation department
- Sector
- Aerospace
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Government research, Quantitative research, Financial modelling
Client challenge
The department was considering subsidised helicopter routes to remote tourist and pilgrimage sites and needed evidence on likely demand and pricing.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: assessing demand for regional helicopter services.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of tourists.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 8 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,200 tourists.
- tourists1,200
Audiences we typically reach in aerospace
PassengersAirline and airport managersMRO providersComponent suppliersEngineers and technicians
Geographic coverage
Coverage: A hill state in North India. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Traveller survey
- 3Operator interviews
- 4Demand model
- 5Insight
We surveyed visitors about travel patterns and willingness to pay at several price points, interviewed operators about costs and constraints, and built a demand and viability model with scenarios.
Government researchQuantitative researchFinancial modelling
Sampling strategy
- tourists
- 1,200
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- operator interviews
- 10
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
- Secondary sources and client data were compiled and cross-checked before modelling.
Data quality & validation
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
- Market model built from secondary data and primary evidence
Key findings
- Demand was strong on two pilgrimage routes during peak season and weak elsewhere.
Seasonality shaped viability more than total annual demand.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: seasonality shaped viability more than total annual demand.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: demand was strong on two pilgrimage routes during peak season and weak elsewhere.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The department focused its tender on those routes with seasonal operations.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Evaluation findings with programme recommendations
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: what attracts and retains aviation talent?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.