Case Studies · Case study · 2021–2022

Case Study 1: Aircraft Loading with QUBO

An eight-week, team-based program turning an Airbus optimization challenge into a shared quantum learning project.

FINQ’s first case study asked small teams to work on a real optimization problem: how might an aircraft-loading challenge be expressed and explored as a QUBO?

Eight weeks of shared work

The virtual program began on October 16, 2021 and ran on a biweekly cycle toward final presentations on December 11. Participants worked in groups of three or fewer, combining guided checkpoints with independent problem-solving.

The problem drew from the Airbus Quantum Computing Challenge and gave members a bounded way to practice formulation, implementation and technical communication together.

From learning to research

The project was designed as a practical learning and development program, not a competition for polished experts. Teams could compare approaches, make mistakes in public and turn a broad industry problem into specific optimization choices.

It also became an early precursor to later FINQ-affiliated work on constrained quantum optimization: a case study that helped transform community learning into a longer research thread.

Eight weeks of shared work

From learning to research

Some questions are too big to explore alone.