Annual Report 2021 | Quick Read

The Airbus Strategy is based on four strategic priorities that will enable the Company to deliver on its purpose.
These strategic priorities focus on geopolitics, sovereignty, resilience and sustainability.

Prioritising sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of Airbus SE’s strategy and operations.

The Airbus Foundation continued to support partners in COVID-19 and disaster response by coordinating humanitarian aid flights to Ivory Coast, Uganda and Nepal. Helicopter flight hours were chartered in Chile and Papua New Guinea to support communities impacted by COVID-19 and in Haiti to conduct aerial assessment following an earthquake. The Foundation also responded to satellite imagery requests from partners for disaster assessment and response plans. The Airbus Foundation Discovery Space digital platform was enriched with new educational videos and activities.

Airbus SE brought together leading figures from across aerospace and beyond to debate the industry’s sustainability challenges. They discussed the unparalleled cooperation that will be required across industry, government, airlines, airports, energy companies and civil society. Key players from the energy and airport industries discussed how their ecosystems must develop to allow greater use of SAF and deploy hydrogen infrastructure. The increasing role of space-based systems in detecting climatic and environmental change was acknowledged.

Airbus Helicopters started test flights aboard Flightlab, a platform-agnostic flying laboratory designed to mature new technologies. These include hybrid and electric propulsion, as well as technologies for autonomous flight, sound reduction, improvements to maintenance and flight safety. These technologies could later equip the current helicopter range and even future fixed-wing or eVTOL platforms. At the Airbus Summit, plans for the CityAirbus NextGen all-electric flying vehicle designed for the Urban Air Mobility market were revealed.

Airbus performed the first long-haul demonstration of more efficient formation flight in general air traffic regulated transatlantic airspace, with two test A350 aircraft flying three kilometres apart from Toulouse to Montreal. Over 6 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved, confirming the potential for more than a 5% fuel saving on long-haul flights as part of the fello’fly demonstrator project. Flight control systems developed by Airbus position the follower aircraft safely in the wake updraft of the lead aircraft, allowing it to reduce engine thrust and fuel consumption.