Qantas's Airbus A350-1000 ULR is about to break the world record for the longest nonstop commercial flight ever taken (held by the Boeing 777-200LR) in exactly 1 hour on its test flight of exactly 24…

Composite structure and protective primer. This used to be the exclusive purview of military prototype jets, but commercial aircraft (primarily, the A350 and 787) are now using the construction techniques too.