Europe has a long tradition in the technical innovation and production of new advanced aeronautical concepts. However the talent to transfer these technical advances into a commercial success was missing. With the creation of Airbus Industrie and pooling of resources for a common product, the concept of a technically very advanced aircraft family which is competitive in the world market has been successfully applied. New technology remains a constant challenge and this paper describes the main axis of research and new technologies which are of interest for future application in civil transport aircraft. A general review is given of the main improvement potentials in aerodynamics, propulsion systems, airborne systems and new materials.