Airbus SE
Company History
Airbus History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1970 in Toulouse, France
When was Airbus founded?
Airbus was founded in 1970 in Toulouse, France by Henri Ziegler, Roger Béteille, Felix Kracht and Franz Josef Strauss, making it 56 years old.
- Founded
- 1970
- Founding place
- Toulouse, France
- Founders
- Henri Ziegler, Roger Béteille, Felix Kracht and Franz Josef Strauss
- Headquarters today
- Leiden, Netherlands (registered office); Toulouse-Blagnac, France (main operational office)
- Milestones documented
- 16 (1970–2025)
- Current CEO
- Guillaume Faury
- Acquisitions
- 4
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1970 | Airbus Industrie Launched |
| 1972 | A300 First Flight |
| 1987 | A320 First Flight |
| 1992 | Eurocopter Formed |
| 2000 | EADS Formed and Listed |
| 2001 | Airbus Integrated |
| 2005 | A380 First Flight |
| 2007 | A380 Entered Service |
| 2014 | EADS Renamed Airbus Group |
| 2015 | A350 Entered Service |
| 2017 | Corporate Name Became Airbus |
| 2018 | A220 Joined Airbus |
| 2019 | Faury Became CEO |
| 2020 | Global Legal Settlements |
| 2025 | Spirit Assets Acquired |
| 2025 | FY2025 Results |
- Where was Airbus founded?
- Airbus was founded in Toulouse, France in 1970.
- Who founded Airbus?
- Airbus was founded by Henri Ziegler, Roger Béteille, Felix Kracht and Franz Josef Strauss.
- When did Airbus start?
- Airbus was founded in 1970.
- How old is Airbus?
- Airbus is 56 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Airbus was established in 1970 as a European consortium (GIE) to aggressively challenge the massive monopoly held by American aerospace giants like Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Instigated by the French, German, and UK governments, the consortium pooled resources to develop the A300, the world's first twin-engine wide-body airliner. By bypassing traditional corporate structures and relying on heavy state subsidies and shared manufacturing across Europe, Airbus managed to survive its highly unprofitable early years to become a dominant global duopoly player.
Founders
Henri Ziegler
Henri Ziegler (1906-1998) was the foundational architect of Airbus and its first CEO. He successfully navigated the incredibly complex political negotiations between the French and German governments to launch the A300 program. A highly decorated WWII resistance fighter, he used his immense political capital to force European aerospace companies to cooperate, laying the groundwork for the modern Airbus consortium. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Roger Béteille
Roger Béteille (1921-2019) is widely considered the technical father of Airbus. As the chief engineer, he established the fundamental design philosophy of the A300, pioneering the use of twin engines for wide-body aircraft to drastically cut airline operating costs. He also mandated that English be the official working language of the consortium to streamline multi-national engineering. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Felix Kracht
Felix Kracht (1912-2002) was a founding engineer of Airbus and its first Production Director. He devised the highly unique, distributed manufacturing system where massive aircraft sections were built across different European countries and flown to Toulouse for final assembly via the 'Super Guppy' (and later, the Beluga) transport aircraft. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Franz Josef Strauss
Franz Josef Strauss (1915-1988) was the political heavyweight who secured the massive West German government funding necessary to launch Airbus. As Chairman of the Airbus supervisory board, he viewed the consortium as a vital tool to rebuild the German aerospace industry and aggressively lobbied state-owned airlines (like Lufthansa) to purchase the early A300 models. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Airbus Industrie Launched
Airbus Industrie GIE was formally launched on 18 December 1970.
Source: airbus.comEurocopter Formed
Aérospatiale and DASA helicopter operations combined as Eurocopter.
Source: airbus.comEADS Formed and Listed
Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA and CASA formed EADS and listed it in three countries.
Source: airbus.comEADS Renamed Airbus Group
EADS became Airbus Group and Eurocopter became Airbus Helicopters.
Source: airbus.comA350 Entered Service
Qatar Airways began A350 commercial operations in January 2015.
Source: airbus.comA220 Joined Airbus
Airbus took majority ownership of the C Series programme on 1 July 2018.
Source: airbus.comGlobal Legal Settlements
Airbus agreed to more than $3.9 billion in global penalties.
Source: justice.govSpirit Assets Acquired
Airbus acquired Spirit assets dedicated to Airbus programmes.
Source: airbus.comFY2025 Results
Revenue was ~$83 billion (€73.420 billion) and net income was ~$5.9 billion (€5.221 billion).
Source: airbus.comMajor Acquisitions
C Series Aircraft programme
2018Airbus took 50.01% control of the C Series partnership and renamed the aircraft A220.
Bombardier interest in Airbus Canada
2020Airbus increased its A220 programme interest to 75%; the stated value is consideration Bombardier received from Airbus.
Aerovel
2024Airbus acquired Aerovel and its Flexrotor unmanned aircraft system; terms were not disclosed.
Spirit AeroSystems assets
2025Airbus acquired sites and work packages dedicated to Airbus aircraft and received $439 million compensation.
Keep researching Airbus
Airbus Company History FAQ
When was Airbus founded?
Airbus Industrie was formally launched on 18 December 1970.
When was EADS formed?
EADS was formed and listed in July 2000.
When was Airbus formed?
Airbus was formally established in 1970 as a massive European consortium (involving France, Germany, and the UK) specifically designed to compete with Boeing.
Related Strategic History
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