As the number of passengers preferring air travel is rising rapidly (IATA Forecast Predicts 8.2 billion Air Travelers in 2037) there is need to reduce cost for air travel . Airbus, an international pioneer in the aerospace sector, has developed an innovative technology that has the potential to reduce fuel consumption considerably.

The details of the technology are disclosed in a recently published patent application. According to the patent application, an unmanned auxiliary air vehicle is used to launch a main aircraft. Both air vehicles are coupled together during the initial stages of a flight mission, that is, taxi-out, take-off and climbing. Once an optimum flight level or cruise altitude is reached, the auxiliary air vehicle is detached from the main air vehicle, as its equipment and systems are no longer necessary for the rest of the flight. After detachment, the auxiliary air vehicle flies back to the airport of origin (or other), either in an automatic or remote unmanned operation, and the main air vehicle normally completes the rest of the flight to the destination, carrying out on its own cruise, descent, landing and taxing to gate phases.

The auxiliary air vehicle optimizes the operation of the main aircraft by sharing the load on the main engine during takeoff thus saving fuel. Furthermore, the auxiliary aircraft gets rid of all the unnecessary parts of the aircraft (additional gear for takeoff and large fuel compartment) that are not required during cursing or landing operations. The removal of these parts makes aircraft lighter thus reducing fuel consumption.

The reduced fuel consumption enhances the flight duration thus making the air travel cheaper.

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