The Business of Aerospace

Organised by themes and complemented by brief commentaries introducing underlying business concepts or additional information, these reader-friendly columns cover a broad enough range of issues to provide a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the key themes relevant to the business of aerospace today.

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The Business of Aerospace is a compilation of many of Antoine Gélain's writings for Aviation Week & Space Technology published throughout the last decade. Organized by themes and complemented by brief commentaries introducing underlying business concepts or additional information, these reader-friendly columns cover a broad enough range of issues to provide a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the key themes relevant to the business of aerospace today. They draw on the author's unique combination of functional expertise (studying and advising on corporate strategy) and industry expertise (working in and with the aerospace industry).

Columns have been kept in their original form, as they are meant to reflect a specific view taken, or analysis made, from when they were written. As such, they are like short case studies, reflecting how business decisions are made: in the present moment, trying to make sense of the past and anticipate the future. To address the unique challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the author has added a concluding chapter that draws upon the stories covered in the book and lessons learned from them to lay out a post-Covid-19 agenda for industry revival.

The main purpose of this book is to help aerospace engineering students and young professionals better understand the business side of the industry while familiarizing themselves with generic business strategy and innovation concepts. Indeed, aerospace is not only about engineering and technology. It is a fully-fledged business with its own economics, competitive dynamics, key success factors and managerial challenges. And it is a complex business, not only because every airplane or rocket is made up of millions of parts produced by thousands of companies all over the world, but also because it is considered a "strategic" industry by many nations and therefore subject to political powerplays that often interfere with rational business and managerial decision-making.