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Airbus last year formed a division called Urban Air Mobility
that is exploring concepts such as a vehicle to transport
individuals or a helicopter-style vehicle that can carry
multiple riders. The aim would be for people to book the vehicle
using an app, similar to car-sharing schemes.
"One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground, now we
have the technological wherewithal to go above ground," Airbus
CEO Tom Enders told the DLD digital tech conference in Munich,
adding he hoped the Airbus could fly a demonstration vehicle for
single-person transport by the end of the year.
"We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development
very seriously," he said, adding that Airbus recognized such
technologies would have to be clean to avoid further polluting
congested cities.
He said using the skies could also reduce costs for city
infrastructure planners. "With flying, you don't need to pour
billions into concrete bridges and roads," he said.
Enders said Airbus, as the world's largest maker of commercial
helicopters, wanted to invest to make the most of new
technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial
intelligence, to usher in what amounts to an era of flying cars.
"If we ignore these developments, we will be pushed out of
important segments of the business," he said.
A spokesman for Airbus declined to say how much the company was
investing in urban mobility.
(Reporting by Eric Auchard; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing
by Ruth Pitchford)
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