.airbus Domain

THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .AIRBUS gTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY ENSURING INCREASED TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE ELIMINATION OF USER CONFUSION AND ASSURANCE OF BRAND AUTHENTICITY.

The new .airbus gTLD will operate as a restricted registry, in which Airbus SAS (Airbus) can create and control domain spaces that promote its brands identity, recognition and authenticity. In this regard, the .airbus will be used by Airbus to provide product information, services and resources to consumers in a way that promotes reassurance, trust, convenience, visibility and utility. The .airbus gTLD will provide an authoritative internet space for Airbus, its affiliates and partners that are associated with the brand. Second and third level domains can then be utilised for various purposes including provision of specific company or aircraft information, marketing and communication.

Airbus is one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers, headquartered in Toulouse, France and owned by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV (EADS). EADS with its subsidiary entities, Airbus (aircraft manufacturer), Astrium (space transportation and satellite services), Cassidian (security services at civil and military levels) and Eurocopter (helicopter manufacturer), form the EADS Group, which is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. Airbus is a truly global enterprise with over 55,000 employees from diverse backgrounds with fully-owned subsidiaries in the US, China, Japan and the Middle East, 5 spare parts centres, an engineering centre, 4 training centres and more than 150 field service offices around the world. Airbus also relies on industrial co-operation and partnerships with major companies worldwide and has a network of over 1,500 suppliers in 30 countries. Over the years Airbus has also received several awards, such as two ‘Crystal Cabin Awards' at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2008 in Hamburg for two cabin systems innovations it has developed. Currently, Airbus supplies approximately half of all commercial airline orders and continues to broaden its scope and product range by applying its expertise to the military markets. In this regard, consumer trust and continuous innovation are paramount considerations in all its activities.

Since the inception of the current domain name system, business activities conducted on the internet are constantly changing and evolving with increased complexity. The volume of commercial transactions over the internet is constantly growing and bringing benefits of simplicity and lowered transaction costs to businesses and consumers. However, at the same time, criminal activities over the internet including data breach, hacking and phishing activities have also become more sophisticated resulting in loss of consumer confidence beyond mere monetary harm. The .airbus gTLD will facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users connecting with Airbus online, whilst still allowing convenient and efficient interaction.

Airbus's mission and purpose of the proposed new gTLD share ICANN's initiatives to promote public interest. Airbus is committed to contribute towards achieving such initiatives in line with ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments, which includes:

- consumer trust: the .airbus gTLD registry will be operated in a centralised manner with a restrictive registration policy. Registration of domain names will only be available to Airbus and its affiliate entities, at this stage, which will provide added consumer trust that .airbus domain names are trustworthy. As .airbus domain names are subject to registration standards, policies and procedures under Airbus's control, this eliminates the possibility of malicious conduct within the .airbus domain space;

- competition: the proposed new gTLD is not intended to instigate competition and consumer choice at the level of registration of domain names among prospective registrants. Instead it is anticipated to contribute to ICANN's initiatives to promote public interest through its operation focused on promoting consumer trust. Increased trust in the .airbus gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs; and

- consumer choice: the proposed new gTLD will enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting Airbus's marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand to provide more company and airline specific content. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with Airbus. As Airbus has effective control over the registration and use of domain names under .airbus domain space, this will also contribute towards general service innovations on the internet.


Given the restricted nature of the .airbus gTLD, the projected number of registration is likely to be limited. It is anticipated that around 100 domain names will be registered in the first year. However, over the next few years, the number of registrations is likely to increase up to 450 domain names as Airbus develops and implements new services and marketing campaigns.

As the new .airbus gTLD expands and evolves, Airbus may consider offering the use of second level domain names to its partners and suppliers at a later date. In this endeavour, Airbus will continue to comply with all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. Airbus will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to .airbus gTLD including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.

Airbus intends to create relevant domain names for use including product, services or geographic names in the second or third level domain names. In accordance with registration policy and the proposed measures for protection of geographic names as outlined in response to Question 22, Airbus will use geographic names to localise its websites in the countries relevant to its customer base. The use of geographic names is intended to:

- connect internet users with relevant information as applicable to the territory;

- provide better customer service by connecting with customers by providing country-specific information; and

- comply with required rules and regulations in the national territory.


Airbus will also utilise Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level in French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Turkish. The use of IDNs will allow internet users to engage with .airbus in their native language, creating a more positive user experience and encouraging diversity. As the use of the .airbus gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that the use of IDNs, including additional languages, will increase within the .airbus domain space.

Airbus is a well-recognised global brand with its trademarks registered in 100 countries and territories worldwide for (but not limited to) the following categories: 12 (vehicles, aircraft), 25 (clothing, footwear, headgear), 28 (model vehicles, toy vehicles), 37 (construction, repair, maintenance, dismantling), 39 (transport, storage of aircrafts and parts of aircraft).

Airbus has existing domain names with an exact match to the "Airbus" trademark and the applied-for .airbus string in the following spaces:

- gTLDs: airbus.com, airbus.tel, airbus.info, airbus.jobs, airbus.aero

- country-code TLDs (ccTLDs): airbus.ae, airbus.cn, airbus.de, airbus.fr, airbus.hk, airbus.jp


In addition, Airbus has an extensive portfolio of existing domain names in 419 gTLDs and 255 ccTLD containing the "Airbus" trademark or relevant to Airbus' aircrafts and related products and services.×