Originally Posted by
C130driver
Huge difference between FEs and pilots. FE is a highly technical job that can be replaced by a computer. The pilot, mainly the PIC, is vested with a lot more than technical expertise; but with command ability. They make terminal decisions that affect the lives of many. That isn’t going away as easily as FEs anytime soon.
x2. The FE's job was automated, but there's still a human to intervene when necessary.
You might get away with just one human, except for that fact that humans become incapacitated occasionally... number I heard was about six per year in US 121 ops. Six hull losses annually is not going to be acceptable for airline insurance underwriters (or congress), so the airplane would essentially have to be fully autonomous anyway. I think you'll see single pilot ops only as an installed backup during the IOC phase of autonomous airliners... depending on how things go, that single pilot might still have a job for a long time.
Ever had the logic misconfigure a bleed or pack valve? Quick fix, right? An automated airliner would RTF, so a mechanic could manually cycle the pack valve... $$$$$. IFE/Wifi inop? Cycle the breaker, right? Wrong. More happy customers...