Dirk Hoke0:15
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It's a great honor to be here. Many of you might ask why a company like Airbus is at a digital conference. Like many industries, aerospace is in the middle of digital transformation. In the next 8 to 10 years, we need to replace 55,000 out of 135,000 people, mostly from Gen Y and Z, who bring new skills. We won't abandon our traditional platform business, but we are transforming. The pace of change has accelerated since the iPhone in 2007. Many employees are scared of the fast change. When I joined Airbus in 2016 and started talking about developing more platforms, they thought I meant aircraft, because in Airbus language 'platform' means aircraft. They feared I would shift R&D money from hardware to software platforms. That isn't the case—we just weren't using the data our systems generate to create digital services. We're now exploring that. Ten days ago we launched UP42 in Berlin, a digital platform for geo-information. A year and a half ago we launched Airbus Aerial, combining satellite and drone data for insurance, oil and gas, and other industries. We use digital tools everywhere: virtual reality for passenger experience tests, factory quality checks, and training workers to place bolts correctly. It also tests new cabin designs for long-haul comfort. We use manufacturing tools to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Since passenger flights double every 15 years, we must make them more efficient. Nature inspires us: bionic structures reduce weight, enabled by new calculation tools and digital twins in our PLM process. Looking to the mid- and long-term, we are developing hybrid and electric flight, though battery technology limits full electric today. We demonstrated the E-Fan two-seater and are now working with Rolls-Royce and Siemens on a larger hybrid aircraft. We also help airlines with predictive maintenance by analyzing the 250,000 sensors on an A350. In Singapore, we are testing autonomous drone shipments from land to vessels in a 3 km corridor, limited by regulation. We need the right to fly over crowds, out of line of sight, and autonomously. Airbus has military drone experience moving into civil. We also have a service called Voom in São Paulo and Mexico City, allowing users to book helicopter rides from airport to downtown via an app. We partner with Audi for seamless end-to-end transportation. We demonstrated a piloted drone passenger vehicle in Germany, built in Donauwörth, and tested at our Manching drone center. In California, our Vahana demonstrator takes off vertically then transitions to horizontal flight, with higher range and speed for one to two passengers. We also collaborated with Audi on a modular mobility concept combining automotive and aerospace; the second-generation pop-up nest was shown in Amsterdam. These concepts could change city life—reducing the 30–40% of city surface used for parking and allowing people to live in suburbs without traffic jams. Ultimately, it's about working in an ecosystem with partners. Of the 55,000 new hires, 20% will be data analysts, programmers, blockchain, and AI specialists. We are adding skills, not replacing, to make urban mobility a reality and help solve society's problems. Thank you for your attention.
