I'm sure they will come up with something. As pilots, it's hard for us to see beyond a year or two with this career because of how tumultous it is for us. As airline managers, it's their job to look out 10 to 20 years. They already have a plan. We saw how fast drone legislation got pushed through when in reality that was supposed to take several years. Watch how fast single-pilot gets pushed on us when Americans start whining to their congressmen about no flights between Podunk, USA and Washington DC. People will say that the technology isn't there yet. But it is. And it's getting cheaper and cheaper to operate. In 20 years, a lot of the low-time pilot jobs likely won't exist. Aerial survey, traffic watch, and possibly freight jobs to some extent. Don't believe me? A former employer of mine is already looking into the technology and costs of making it happen and they have a 5 year implementation plan.

And for the record, I'm not a "doom and gloomer". I do believe the next 5 years will be the best time in over a decade to become a pilot and fly for an airline. I just think the underlying problem of attracting people into the pilot career field isn't being answered yet.