Not a good time to be a pilot if this is true.

 

Incidents like the AA captain that passed away last week are the only things keeping this from happening. As soon as the public trusts technology more than they care about warm bodies up front this will be a reality. The technology is there for this single pilot type of operation. And the technology for fully remote - piloted and even fully autonomous planes isn't far fetched.

 

In Europe they have what they call a FROZEN ATPL. It's basically a 250 hr pilot that has a Comm Inst Me and passed 14 written exams that takes about 6 months of full time study. Has been working for years. Oh, they are on the right seat of A320, B737.

 

737-8 is over 150 pax. That's 3 RJ's into a hub and 3 leaving the hub. 6 departures to carry the same amount of people as a direct flight. Upgageing will also cut jobs and regional size. The article didn't say they were getting rid of hubs, so it won't be like Spirit. He's basically saying there going to consolidate the current inventory of seats like I mentioned above. The goal is to increase revenue without adding seats. But you are right, this didn't happen when there were 8 airlines where now only 4 exist. The networks are so large that you wouldn't be stranded like Sprit. It makes sense that any town large enough to have service to more than one hub on the same network, could have point to point flights on the most popular parings. Rual towns with only service to 1 hub from each network will still be the same hub system.

 

Are you sure? Their multi-crew rating has been around for a while but isn't very common anymore.

 

Why aren't trains automated? The technology being aviable is irrelevant, single pilot jets aren't new. There is zero pressure for this to happen. The remote systems like on the Predator aren't cheaper.

 

Trains actually are automated, at least the light rails, and rapid transits. I spent a great deal of time in the Bay Area, using metro and BART. I would always watch the conductor. The BART conductor would just sit there monitoring, once in a while would press a button to re-open the doors, etc. Braking, accelerating, cruising, stopping was all automatic. Same thing for Metro up until they would be street level.
The major railroads can control trains through radio control, and often do in the switching yards.
As far as the public accepting the technology, once your car drives itself, the show is over. Just watch the progress of the Google car. Google themselves have stated they want to bring the technology to the cockpit, and they will.

 

I guess the Philly train that straitened out a turn just forgot to activate his Google auto throttles. Ships have all over what your talking about, still a captain and still a first officer. Having the software and cutting the job aren't the same thing.

 

You guys paint this as a bad thing. Think about the bennies of working from a ground station. Home every night, no more crappy food, no more hotels with bedbugs, no more radiation, and best of all, no skin in the game if the technology craps the bed. My last point is why it will never happen. Some group will figure out how to hack the controls and that will be the end of pilotless aircraft. Next.

 

Just because technology exists doesn't mean the jobs are going away. Good lord.

Read about how many problems they have had with drones and adjustment for weather etc. its not the same thing and the moment a drone messes up and gets 150 people killed then what?