Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Why Boeing and Airbus Are Betting on Composites Again

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Why Boeing and Airbus Are Betting on Composites Again

Jeff Sloan recently highlighted something significant: both Boeing and Airbus are openly discussing next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) programs, with production targets of 100 aircraft per month up from today's 58 A320s and 40 737s.

For more than a decade, there has been no new major western passenger aircraft program – it seemed no one knew where to innovate. Now we have two, and production targets are super ambitious!

The 787's troubled development led to serious questions about composites' readiness for large-scale commercial aviation.

Wing box buckling, BVID (barely visible impact damage) and composite joints problems led local thickening. High safety factors as a result of our poor understanding of material behavior. All led to more than three years of delays. First machines heavily overweight. Over $10 billion in cost overrun.

In 2014, Boeing's VP of aircraft materials stated that if they "knew then what they know now, material decisions might have been very different on the 787."

I heard from industry experts expressing doubts about whether the next generation would maintain composite content. The disappointment was real.

So what changed?

We learned a lot. And we have new materials and technologies now that can help solve most of the early composite material problems.

It’s hard to achieve 100 aircraft per month with thermoset composites requiring hours of autoclave curing.

This is where thermoplastic composites become necessary:

✓ In-situ consolidation

✓ No autoclave needed

✓ Weldable joints

✓ Better damage tolerance

But they're harder to process. The technology wasn't ready 15 years ago.

Now it might be.

In March 2025, Airbus explicitly connected their NGSA to the successful completion of the 10-year European Clean Sky program—which invested heavily in thermoplastic manufacturing readiness.

When a major OEM connects their future aircraft to a research program, the technology has crossed from "interesting" to "producible at scale."

The 787 taught us what doesn't work. Clean Sky developed what might work. NGSA production rates demand it works at speed and scale.

Have we finally figured out how to make composites work at scale and speed?

I think the answer might be yes. Not betting on composites in the new generation is a step back.

What's your perspective? Can thermoplastic composites enable 100 NGSAs per month?

source : Jeff Sloan/Fedor Antonov for the insights.