Showing off on its home turf: What to expect from Airbus at Paris Air Show 2025
When there’s a party going on in your back yard, it’s important to look your best. For Airbus at Paris Air Show, the planemaker is showcasing the very best of its product line, with over 20 aircraft from all disciplines on display.
Whether you’re attending or following along from home, here’s what to expect from Airbus at the Paris Air Show 2025.
Bookmark our PAS25 page for ongoing coverage before and during the Paris Air Show 2025.
What aircraft is Airbus bringing to Paris Air Show 2025?
The Airbus presence will, naturally, be strong on its home turf in Paris. The European planemaker is bringing no less than 21 different aircraft products, covering its work in commercial and military applications.
On the commercial side, Airbus will bring everything except the A330neo. Confirmed for display are:
- Airbus A220: Operator unknown
- Airbus A321XLR: Riyadh Air
- A350-900: Operator unknown
- A350-1000: Operator unknown
Defence aircraft confirmed to be attending under the Airbus banner are:
- Eurofighter Typhoon
- C295 tactical transporter
- A400M Atlas
- CM170 Fouga Magister
Airbus will also have a strong contingent of rotorcraft at the show, including:
- H145
- H225M Caracal
- NH90
- SA 341 Gazelle F2
- RACER helicopter
In addition to working aircraft, Airbus will showcase future technologies with a range of mockups:
- Eurodrone: A medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV under development jointly by France, Germany, Spain and Italy
- Flexrotor: A tactical UAV with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, designed for ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) missions with endurance of up to 30 hours.
- SIRTAP: Another MALE UAV being co-developed by Airbus and Spain
- VSR700: A rotary wing UAV designed for naval operations and based on the Cabri G2 airframe
- Capa-X: A technology demonstrator to explore future combat drone solutions
- Aliaca-VTOL: A VTOL version of the Aliaca UAV in development by Airbus subsidiary Survey Copter
The manufacturer will also present two military versions (mock ups) of its in-orudction rotorcraft, the H125M and H145M.
There will be Airbus products on display from other airshow participants too. These include:
- An EC120 Colibri presented by Défense Conseil International (DCI)
- An H225M Caracal presented by MINARM Pavillon
- An H160M Guépard presented by MINARM Pavillon
- An A400M Atlas presented by Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace
Why Airbus isn’t bringing an eVTOL offering to Paris Air Show
Airbus Helicopters has been developing an eVTOL aircraft called the CityAirbus NextGen.
It’s an all-electric, four seat aircraft with an 80km (50 mile) range. Renders shared so far show it has fixed wings, a V-shaped tail and eight electric-powered propellers.
But while competitors Boeing and Embraer will showcase their eVTOL technology at the show, in the form of Wisk and EVE, Airbus has stepped back from the advanced aerial mobility race and won’t be showing its aircraft.
In January, Airbus said it was pausing its plans to bring the CityAirbus NextGen to market, as growth in sales of conventional helicopters caused it to rethink both the business case and technology requirements.
Nevertheless, the CityAirbus is still undergoing regular flight tests as Airbus seeks to learn more about eVTOL technology. But the company has emphasised that current technology is not sufficient, particularly in regards to batteries and infrastructure, to realise its goal of beringin the aircraft to market.
As such, no eVTOL will be displayed by Airbus at Paris Air Show next week, although as we can see, there will be a strong contingent of the popular Airbus Helicopters on site.
Will Airbus get any orders at Paris Air Show 2025?
AIrbus has sat quietly on the sidelines as rival Boeing announced huge orders in tandem with President Trump’s visits to Middle East states. But the airshow could be its time to shine.
AirAsia is hotly tipped to place an order with Airbus, which could include the A220 and more A320neo family aircraft.
Also eyeing the A220 is Ethiopian Airlines, although the jury is out on whether now is the right time to make an order.
VietJet has been widely rumoured to be signing up for a large number of A320neo family aircraft for its future fleet at the show. It could be one of the biggest orders of the week if it materialises.
On the widebody side, there’s plenty of interest in the A350, although orders are likely to be smaller. Riyadh Air is overdue an order for the A350-1000, but it seems as if Air India will hold off on any widebody orders following this week’s tragic events.
There’s lots of talk about Chinese airlines placing a combined order for a huge number of Airbus jets. But given the show is so far from their home turf, they may choose not to announce anything until after the event.
