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Airbus exploring single-pilot, then autonomous aviation potential

FRENCH planemaker Airbus is exploring autonomous aircraft and technologies that will first allow a single pilot to operate jetliners to cut costs, said chief technology officer Paul Eremenko.

Earlier this month, the Toulouse-based Airbus agreed to set up an innovation centre in Shenzhen, Mr Eremenko said.

The facility will accelerate research into the future of air travel, and China will provide Airbus an opportunity to design and develop such technologies, he said.

"The more disruptive approach is to say maybe we can reduce the crew needs for our future aircraft," Mr Eremenko told Bloomberg Television.

"We're pursuing single-pilot operation as a potential option and a lot of the technologies needed to make that happen has also put us on the path towards unpiloted operation."

There is a similar trend in the car market, where there are autonomous driving startups. Plane manufacturers including Airbus and Boeing are developing artificial intelligence to enable computers to fly planes without active human control.

Airbus has a division called Urban Air Mobility that is exploring technology from on-demand helicopter rides to delivery drones. Boeing said last month it purchased a company that is developing flying taxis for Uber Technologies and also bought into a hybrid-electric aircraft company.

Airbus is also exploring technologies that will bring more automation to the cockpit of planes that could help resolve shortage of pilots in countries like China, which is set to emerge as the world's biggest aviation market in less than a decade.

Discussions are on with Chinese companies such as Baidu to find ways to apply self-driving vehicles to the aviation industry, Mr Eremenko said.