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LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - British low-cost carrier easyJet said it would be the first airline to use drones to helpmaintain its fleet to keep a lid on its costs.
The airline said drones - aircraft that do not have a piloton board - would be used to carry out aircraft checks, cuttingdown on the time it takes to make inspections, and it would alsoreplace printed charts and log books with electronic ones to cutonboard weight and save on fuel costs.
"We are applying a range of new technologies to the aviationsector for the first time to help us run our fleet of aircraftmore effectively, efficiently and safely," the FTSE 100airline's Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said in a statement onWednesday.
It said it would start using drones next year after trialsin coming months.
Shares in easyJet were trading up 2.2 percent at 1,703 penceat 0842 GMT, after it earlier said the later timing of Easterhelped boost its April passenger numbers by 10 percent comparedto the year earlier period. (Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)
