Airbus forges ahead on pioneering sustainable aerospace

Making global aerospace more sustainable and meeting far-reaching decarbonization goals will clearly require deep collaboration from the whole industry - beyond commercial aviation. To explore how Airbus and the industry can come together to implement the necessary mix of solutions for a credible journey towards net-zero, Airbus brought together renowned aerospace experts, operators, journalists, influencers and policy makers to participate in the first-ever Airbus Summit September 21-22.

On Day One, Airbus led a discussion on decarbonization challenges, electrification strategy and eVTOL and hosted the first of two Road to net-zero conversations with low cost airline CEOs.

On Day Two, the focus shifted to space and its role in climate action and a discussion featuring Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and airline, airport and energy sector representatives. Airbus also continued its Road to net-zero discussion with legacy airline sustainability leaders from Delta, Frontier and LATAM, among others.

The event provided a unique opportunity to reveal some recent sustainability developments, including:

- Airbus will soon start delivering aircraft from its U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Alabama with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), bringing the company closer to fulfilling its commitment to carbon-neutral growth in the aviation sector.

- LATAM Airlines will upgrade their 200+ A320 Family fleet with Airbus’ “Descent Profile Optimisation” (DPO) function – a fuel-saving enhancement to the aircraft’s on-board Flight Management System (FMS) performance database.

- Airbus, Air Liquide and France’s VINCI Airports, shared their collaborative plans to promote the use of hydrogen at airports and build the European airport network to accommodate future hydrogen aircraft, with first installations starting as early as 2023.

Beyond the Summit, Airbus remains focused on its goal to bring zero-emission aircraft to market by 2035. Some key initiatives include:

- Airbus performed its first long-haul demonstration formation flight in general air traffic (GAT) regulated transatlantic airspace with two A350 aircraft flying at three kilometers apart from Toulouse, France to Montreal, Canada, saving six tons of CO2 emissions and confirming the potential for more than a 5% fuel saving on long-haul flights

- Airbus H225 performed the first ever helicopter flight with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) powering one of its Safran Makila 2 engines from Airbus Helicopters headquarters in Marignane, France, marking the start of a flight campaign aiming to assess the impact of unblended SAF on the helicopter systems.

- The A319neo tests 100% SAF. The first in-flight study of a single-aisle aircraft operating on SAF successfully took off and landed, bringing Airbus and the aviation industry a step closer to the certification of 100%, unblended SAF for commercial use by 2030.  This month an additional important milestone was achieved with an A350 successfully performing a flight with 100% SAF in Toulouse.

- Airbus partners with Plug Power Inc. and Phillips 66 to study the feasibility of bringing green hydrogen to future aircraft and airports worldwide.

For more information contact:
Liana Sucar-Hamel
Head of Communications, Latin America & the Caribbean
liana.sucar-hamel@airbus.com