by Elsie Clark | May 29, 2026 | AI & ML
French aircraft manufacturer Airbus have announced a new partnership with Mistral AI. Spanning the company’s entire operational chain, the agreement will expand the use of AI across Airbus’s activities.
Four key opportunities for integration have been noted, with some projects already underway. These cover:
- Automating technical documents production and making workflows more intuitive.
- Using AI-powered simulations and optimisations to accelerate design innovation, as well as development and test phases.
- AI models to make aircraft and spacecraft more intelligent, for example automatic object recognition and improved operational safety.
- Specific defence applications, including cyber investigation and coding assistants.
Airbus stress that AI deployment will meet stringent security standards to maintain the confidentiality of critical defence and aerospace data.
Catherine Jestin, Executive Vice President Digital at Airbus, said:
This partnership paves the way for the deployment of high-impact, high-value use cases of trusted and responsible AI in aerospace. Thanks to the high-performance models and made-to-measure support of Mistral AI experts, we are building the foundations necessary to power our current and future products and services, enabling us to serve our customers better.
Founded in 2023, Mistral AI are a French company whose customers include Cisco and HSBC. Timothée Lacroix, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Mistral AI, commented:
We are proud to partner with Airbus and contribute to its critical industrial operations. Together, we will deploy Mistral’s fully integrated AI stack to accelerate innovation, contribute to improve flight safety, and deliver greater value for customers.
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by Elsie Clark | May 28, 2026 | Innovation
Airbus have blamed supply chain difficulties as it delays delivery of Qantas’s first ultra-long-haul A350-1000.
Nicknamed ‘Project Sunrise’, Qantas plans to use the aircraft to run direct flights from Sydney Kingsford Smith to London Heathrow and New York JFK. The Australia-US flight will last 22 hours, and is possible thanks to a 20,000-litre fuel tank.
Airbus had been scheduled to deliver the first of 12 A350-1000s to Qantas at the end of this year. However, the Toulouse-based manufacturer has pushed the date back to April 2027.
A Qantas spokesperson said:
We continue to work closely with Airbus on the delivery and certification process that will enable us to begin operating these history-making ultra long-haul flights.
Supply chain issues have blighted the aviation industry for several years now. In its 2025 end-of-year report, Airbus reported a record backlog of 8,754 commercial aircraft. Engine suppliers Prattt & Whitney were blamed as the principal cause of delays. An increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment has been complicated further by the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating supply chain complications.
Qantas assert that test flights of the A350-1000 will begin within weeks, and that pilot training in the simulator is underway. The inaugural route and schedule for Project Sunrise is also set to release in the coming months.
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by Elsie Clark | Feb 24, 2026 | Innovation, Sustainability
Zero-emissions taxiing is the focus of a new project backed by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK. Led by Airbus, a consortium of partners including Drive System Design (DSD), Evolito, and the University of Southampton will work together to advance an electric wheel taxi system.
Such a solution could reduce taxi emissions by 47%, as aircraft could take off without deploying their main engines. Called Project SONATA, the consortium will develop a low speed, high torque electric motor and other infrastructure to support development.
Commenting on DSD’s involvement, Chris McDonald, the UK Government Minister for Industry, said:
Aviation needs to be sustainable on both land and air to reach Jet Zero, and that’s why this government is backing this innovative project by DSD to electrify aircraft ground operations. The UK’s world class aerospace sector has a key role to play in this race, and that’s why we’re doubling down on support for the sector through our Modern Industrial Strategy, delivering innovation and good jobs.
IATA named climate change-related disruption as one of the aviation industry’s top risks for 2026. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events will make running flights more difficult and less predictable, making improved sustainability an operational necessity. If successful, projects such as SONATA could go some way to mitigating these risks while reducing aviation’s overall environmental impact.
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by Elsie Clark | Feb 19, 2026 | Innovation
European aircraft and aerospace manufacturer Airbus have published their full-year 2025 financial performance, recording revenue of €73.4 billion and a record backlog of 8,754 commercial aircraft.
Revenue was up on 2024’s €69.2 billion, and Airbus also managed to deliver more aircraft (783 in 2025 against 766 in 2024). Airbus Defence and Space performed especially well, with revenue increasing 11% year-on-year to €13.4 billion.
For 2026, assuming no further geopolitical disruption, the company is targeting 870 commercial deliveries. Production on the A220s is still accelerating, with Airbus now hoping to deliver 13 models a month by 2028. They blame Pratt & Whitney as engine suppliers for the current stalling on the programme, and assert that they will achieve a rate of 70 to 75 overall aircraft a month before the end of 2027.
Rivals Boeing posted a profit in 2025 for the first time since 2018, but also reported a backlog worth US$682 billion.
Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer, said:
2025 was a landmark year, characterised by very strong demand for our products and services across all businesses, a record financial performance, and strategic milestones. We successfully navigated a complex and dynamic operating environment to deliver on our updated guidance.
Global demand for commercial aircraft underpins our ongoing production ramp-up, which we are managing while facing significant Pratt & Whitney engine shortages. The broad and competitive portfolios of Defence and Space as well as Helicopters allow us to capture the momentum in defence. We are also making progress to establish a new global industrial space player, together with our partners. These 2025 results and the confidence in our future financial performance support the proposed higher dividend payment.
Faury alludes to the merger with Leonardo and Thales that will see Airbus contribute its Space Systems and Space Digital businesses to a new aerospace entity that could rival SpaceX. Worth €10 billion, the European super-company represents an exciting development for Airbus as the manufacturing arm continues to struggle with supply chain issues and an extensive backlog.
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by Elsie Clark | Feb 5, 2026 | MRO IT
Airbus’s latest Global Services Forecast (GSF) for the Asia-Pacific region predicts that services demand in the region will reach US$138.7 billion by 2044.
With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%, APAC is set to be the most dynamic aviation services market in the world. 19,560 new passenger aircraft will be required to meet travel demand, Airbus believe, as passenger traffic looks set to grow at 4.4% annually.
The GSF divides the services market in APAC into seven key sectors:
- Off-wing maintenance, worth US$100 billion in 2044, driven by expanding (and ageing) fleets. Supply chain challenges and labour shortages pose significant challenges to this segment.
- On-wing maintenance, worth US$14 billion in 2044 as key MRO infrastructure develops and expands in fast-growing markets like India, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
- Modifications and upgrades, worth US$6.2 billion in 20444. Airbus say cabin modernisation is being undertaken more regularly as airlines try and offer more premium products and the latest inflight connectivity (IFC) solutions in line with changing customer demand.
- Digital and connectivity, worth US$11.2 billion in 2044, driven by widespread adoption of AI and data analytics for predictive maintenance, improved flight ops, and labour shortage mitigation.
- Training, worth US$7.7 billion in 2044. Airbus predict that 1.06 million new aviation professionals will be required by 2044, including 282,000 pilots, 302,000 technicians and 473,000 cabin crew.
- Maintenance operations support, worth US$46.4 billion by 2044, and a key enabler for operators and MROS.
- Ground operations, worth US$31 billion by 2044 and undergoing complex restructuring as the sector incorporates automation and digital tools for improved performance.
Airbus conclude their notes on APAC by explaining:
As the aviation ecosystem continues to evolve, growth in services demand is increasingly concentrated in Asia-Pacific. Although mature markets will continue to provide scale, Asia-Pacific, driven by South Asia and China, will define the next phase of global aviation services growth, reshaping capacity, capabilities and investment priorities worldwide.
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