Airbus is teasing technologies that could enable its next-generation single-aisle jet, including innovative engine and wing designs aimed at boosting efficiency.
The Toulouse-based airframer provided an update during the 2025 Airbus Summit on a new narrowbody product that it envisions delivering sometime in the second half of the 2030s.
Airbus has previously stated that it would launch such a programme before the end of this decade.
But it did not get specific on when it plans to finalise the design of its next-generation narrowbody. Airbus is seemingly in no rush to market as Boeing attempts to gain momentum with its 737 Max programme – allowing more time for engine and wing concepts to mature.
Airbus chief Guillaume Faury said during the event that its next narrowbody platform would be “evolutionary rather than revolutionary”, with renderings suggesting the aircraft could take a familiar-looking form.
Boeing is still attempting to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification of the Max 7 and Max 10 – the smallest and largest variants of the Max family, respectively.
Already badly delayed, those programmes are being further hindered by issues related to the stall management yaw damper system on both the Max 7 and Max 10.
Airbus, meanwhile, started delivering its long-range variant of the A321neo to airline customers in October.
”We have the most advanced aircraft portfolio in the market and the A321XLR is at the very forefront of today’s single-aisle aircraft technology,” says Bruno Fichefeux, Airbus’ head of future programmes.
”Now we are taking the best of what we’ve done and preparing another jump to make our single-aisle aircraft even better and pioneer the future of flight, when the time is right.”
Airbus has also experienced recent setbacks on the innovation front. Last month, it pushed back the service-entry target for a hydrogen-powered aircraft developed under its ZEROe project by up to 10 years, though it has recently reaffirmed optimism in the technology’s potential.
With its next narrowbody jet, Airbus is targeting a 20-30% increase in fuel efficiency compared with A320neo-family aircraft.
Airbus is exploring various airframe configurations, including “long foldable wings allowing for significant aerodynamic gains”, a concept it is studying through its Wing of Tomorrow technology research programme.
Such a design would provide the aircraft ”a longer wingspan in flight, increasing lift and reducing drag, while still making it compatible with airport gates,” Airbus says.
”Imagine a new Airbus single-aisle aircraft with wings designed with advanced aerodynamics and biomimicry in mind to generate significantly more lift, reducing fuel consumption and increasing efficiency.”
It is also seeking to gain ground on engine efficiency, pointing to ”disruptive open-fan designs”, such as CFM International’s advanced open fan concept RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines).
”An open-fan engine looks quite different from a modern turbofan, as the fan blades that generate thrust are larger and not contained by a nacelle, the cowling that contains the fan in current-generation engines,” Airbus says. ”This allows air to move efficiently through the engine, reducing fuel consumption.”
Airbus is partnering with CFM on the RISE open-fan engine demonstrator, which could reduce aircraft emissions by 20% compared with today’s most efficient single-aisle jets. It is planning to launch a flight-test programme using the open-fan design on an A380 test article before decade’s end.
The company is also exploring hybrid technology that could supplement burning conventional or sustainable aviation fuel with batteries or fuel cells. Such an approach could potentially reduce carbon emissions by up to 5%, Airbus says, by ”using otherwise wasted energy to power non-propulsive functions”.
”These batteries could be used to power the aircraft while taxiing on the ground, as well as during flight for onboard functions like the air conditioning system or lighting,” it says.
