Air Ambulance Services Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report by Service Operator, Service Type and Aircraft Type : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030

Air Ambulance Services Market Statistics 2030 -

The global air ambulance services market was valued at $5.24 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $14.24 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 10.6% from 2021 to 2030.

Air ambulances are special type of aircraft, which are designed to perform air medical services at emergency situations where land-based medical help takes time to reach. Air ambulance includes aircraft and helicopters, which are equipped with all the medical facilities and are intended to provide medical assistance at locations such as hill top or at locations where road-based ambulance services do not reach easily. The increased number of accidents and other life taking threats, such as major strokes, heart attack, trauma, and other such medical ailments, creates an increased demand for efficient ambulance services to be present, which eventually leads to the growth of air ambulance services across the globe.         

Factors, such as increasing rates of trauma, stroke, & heart attacks to propel demand for air medical services and rapid technological advancements in air ambulance services, create opportunities for the growth of the market across the globe. However, stringent regulations for aviation license and high cost of air medical services & reimbursement challenges create a barrier for the growth of the air ambulance services market across the globe. Moreover, growth in urban air mobility (UAM) platform and acquiring the untapped potential of Asia-Pacific create numerous opportunities for the growth of the air ambulance services market across the globe.

The global air ambulance services market has been segmented on the basis of service operator, service type, aircraft type, and region. By service operator, the global market is divided into hospital based, independent, and government. By service type, it is bifurcated into domestic and international. By aircraft type, it is classified into fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Region-wise, the market is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The key players profiled in the global air ambulance services market are Acadian Companies, Aeromedevac, Air Methods, Alpha Star, Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance, Gulf Helicopters, European Air Ambulance, Express Aviation Services, PHI Inc., and REVA Inc.

Increasing rates of trauma, stroke, and heart attacks to propel demand for air medical services

Air ambulance services are increasingly being used to transport patients suffering from a stroke, heart attack, or a traumatic incident that requires time-sensitive therapies in a critical care center. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 0.8 million Americans and a million people in Europe suffer from a stroke annually. Over 4 million people are seriously injured in road accidents in the U.S. every year. In addition, cardiovascular diseases account for over 18 million deaths globally every year due to unavailability of timely ambulance services at different locations. Time-dependent medical or surgical intervention is required in many cases of trauma, stroke, and heart attacks. For example, the quick restoration of blood flow to the brain with the help of an emergency “IV Injection” of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator or an endovascular procedure is critical for treating ischemic stroke, which can be provided efficiently through air ambulance services at different locations. Thus, increased rates of trauma, stroke, and heart attacks create wider space for the growth of air ambulance services across the globe.

Rapid technological advancements in air ambulance services

Advancements in air ambulances are happening around the level of care provided to patients being transported with the help of modern and innovative medical devices. Besides, technologically advanced communication systems allow the transfer of real-time data of a patient's health to the experts at the hospital, allowing the doctors to prepare for emergency in advance. Air ambulances are now equipped with critical care equipment, such as a ventilator, heart monitor, and defibrillator, to provide emergency medical care to patients. Below are some of the important technological advancements made in emergency medical services aircraft amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, EHang, a leading manufacturer of Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAV), successfully transferred medical professionals, staff, and medical supplies in its two-seated passenger drone.

Additionally, EHang and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) jointly developed an ambulance drone, Ambular, to efficiently tackle healthcare emergencies. In September 2020, India’s first-ever integrated air ambulance was jointly launched by Kyathi and the International Critical Air Transfer Team (ICATT). The fixed-wing aircraft ambulance is equipped with an isolation pod to enable safe transport of critical patients affected by COVID-19. Improvement in medical infrastructure backed by AAV development is expected to contribute to the global air ambulance services market growth during the forecast period.

High cost of air medical services & reimbursement challenges

Air ambulance service charges are significantly higher than ground ambulance services. Although some level of coverage is available for air ambulance services in the U.S. under government and private health insurance, the reimbursement rates are quite low compared to the billing of air medical service providers. Medicare and Medicaid cover about 60% and 34% of the average air medical transport cost leaving the patients to bear a huge out-of-pocket expense in many cases. This high cost of air medical services & reimbursement challenges creates a barrier for the growth of the market across the globe.

Growth in urban air mobility (UAM) platform

Technological advancements and industry investments in electrification, automation, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and air traffic management are enabling innovations in aviation such as new aircraft designs, services, and business models. Urban air mobility (UAM) is a broad concept that enables consumers’ access to on-demand air mobility throughout urban areas. The rapid pace of technology improvement has turned the concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) into an attractive business proposition. With increasing road congestion, especially in megacities, people are constantly searching for better and safer air medical services to be present in an efficient way to different locations, which creates opportunities for the growth of the market. In recent years, on-demand aviation services similar to transportation network companies, such as Uber or Lyft, are entering the marketplace. Globally, 12 app & web-based, on-demand UAM passenger services using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were operational as of March 2020. Numerous companies have announced plans to launch passenger UAM services using VTOL and other novel aircraft designs. Such developments carried out by different companies create a positive impact on the growth of the air ambulance services market across the globe.

Covid-19 Impact Analysis

• The COVID-19 crisis is creating uncertainty in the market, massive slowing of supply chain, falling business confidence, and increasing panic among customer segments.
• Governments of different regions have already announced lockdown and temporary shutdown of industries, thereby adversely affecting the overall production and sales.
• Temporary lockdown of various design, development, and manufacturing facilities is limiting the market growth. Sluggish global economies with a major focus on fighting the pandemic will also negatively impact the market growth.
• Lockdown situation has occurred due to rising cases of COVID-19 that temporarily terminated various operations in the aviation sector such as manufacturing, raw material supply, and aircraft deliveries.
• Domestic air passenger numbers have been returning to the pre-pandemic levels, particularly in developing countries such as China and Russia.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study presents analytical depiction of the global air ambulance services market analysis along with current trends and future estimations to depict imminent investment pockets.
• The overall air ambulance services market opportunity is determined by understanding profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global air ambulance services market with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current air ambulance services market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2030 to benchmark the financial competency.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.

Key Market Segments

By Service Operator

• Hospital Based
• Independent
• Government

By Service Type

• Domestic
• International

By Aircraft Type

• Fixed-Wing
• Rotary-Wing

By Region

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Russia
  • Italy
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• LAMEA
  • Latin America
  • Middle East
  • Africa

KEY PLAYERS

• Acadian Companies
• Aeromedevac
• Air Methods
• ALPHASTAR
• Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance
• Gulf Helicopters
• European Air Ambulance
• Express Aviation Services
• PHI Inc
• REVA Inc.

  Air Ambulance Services Market Report Highlights

Aspects	Details
By SERVICE OPERATOR	Hospital based Independent Government
By SERVICE TYPE	Domestic International
By AIRCRAFT TYPE	Fixed-Wing Rotary-Wing
By Region	North America  (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe  (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Russia, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific  (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) LAMEA  (Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Argentina, Rest of LAMEA)
Key Market Players	Gulf Helicopters, Express Aviation Services, Air Methods, REVA, Inc., Babcock International Group PLC, Alpha Star Aviation Services, ACADIAN COMPANIES, European Air Ambulance (EAA), Aeromedevac

Analyst Review

The growth of the global air ambulance services market is driven by numerous developments carried out by top aircraft manufacturers, which led to the growth of the market. Moreover, increased production & sales of aircraft followed by rise in need for efficient air-based medical service supplements the growth of the market across the globe.

In addition, the key players, such as Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH), Air Methods, Alphastar, Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance, Envision Healthcare Companies, and others, have collaborated with numerous aircraft & helicopter owners to establish their air ambulance service, which creates a positive impact on the growth of the market across the globe.

Factors, such as increasing rates of trauma, stroke, and heart attacks to propel demand for air medical services, rapid technological advancements in air ambulance services, growth in urban air mobility (UAM) platform, and acquiring the untapped potential of Asia-Pacific, create a positive impact on the growth of the market across the globe.

Among the analyzed regions, North America is the highest revenue contributor, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. On the basis of forecast analysis, Asia-Pacific is expected to maintain its lead during the forecast period, owing to increase in trend for air-based medical services & infrastructural developments across the region.

Author Name(s) : Abhay Singh | Lalit Janardhan Katare

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