Airbus has filed a patent application for a new commercial trijet, reviving interest in a powerplant configuration abandoned by airliner manufacturers for two decades, The patent application, published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on 27 March, shows a new trijet design featuring a distinctive, noise-shielding tail structure. But Airbus's North American division has downplayed the design's relevance to the airframer's future plans: "Airbus is regularly filing patent applications and this is normal business for a company that is a leader in innovation and technology," the company says. "That's not to say this is 'the' design we're looking at...