Quote:
Originally Posted by CBreezy
While I don't disagree in your statement, I think your timeline is ambitious. I think the first thing to go will be truck drivers, most likely in the next 15-20 years. It just takes way too long to purchase that kind of technology especially when current technology is already paid for.
The next fully automated career field will be taxis and the like. It will probably take 20-30 years to get rid of all taxi cabs. I think cargo pilots will be the first aviation career to be automated. I don't think that'll happen in the next 25 years. It'll take at least that long to create the infrastructure and regulations to allow for it to happen. As for passenger traffic? I think we will start seeing single pilot technology in major airline cockpits at the end of my career. People are fine if their box goes down in the middle of Nebraska. I am still surprised at how many people still say that they would NEVER own a self-driving car. Until they are comfortable with that, they will never be okay without a pilot. Getting rid of pilot labor doesn't save THAT much.
Pilots will be eliminated in less than 20 years, this is absolutely assured. The next level of automation will require a technician to monitor the aircraft. Flying is soon to be a maintenance function, no longer a pilot one. There won't be drones, there just won't be pilots.
It's not about saving the cost of the pilot, that's nothing, it's about being able to get up to 50% more utilization out of the aircraft, increasing billions in revenue.