Written to mark the arrival of the A380, the tale echoes Airbus’ own story. The author visited Airbus sites across Europe during 2004 to draw inspiration from employees’ accounts of teamwork and partnership, their shared vision and their enthusiasm.

Erik Orsenna, who was visiting Le Bourget for the first time, had the surprise of receiving a copy of his own book signed by the entire Airbus flight test crew.

The book, published in English, French, German and Spanish is already available in bookshops in France and will also be on sale in other countries.

Erik Orsenna has written seven novels, including the Prix Goncourt-winning L’Exposition Coloniale published in 1988. He was elected to the Académie Française in 1998. He has also worked as an economist at Paris university and acted as advisor to the French government in the 1980s and 1990s.

Tidings from the isle of flight is beautifully illustrated with a series of drawings by Spanish artist Santiago Morilla. At university, Santiago Morilla first chose to study engineering before switching to fine art. He has produced illustrations for a variety of publications, including the International Herald Tribune newspaper.