In a scene that will give some travellers the jitters, Airbus has said that one day “intelligent” passenger aircraft will cruise across oceans in low-drag, energy-saving formations, like flocks of geese. The idea stretches the imagination about the hoped-for energy saving and navigation of the Avionics of 2050. That’s when Airbus says this type of travel could be the norm. It will save fuel, apparently, and get more people to the destination together, as one media outlet put it. Oh really, say we. More people arriving together. That would be fun. And indeed, there’s nothing in the Airbus vision to explain how flocks of aircraft land on limited runways, dock, disembark and feed the baggage carousel without enormous delays.
