Originally Posted by
Lapon
Those figures would look very impressive im sure.... until you compare them to every expense item on an airlines books.
Thats why alternative fuels are the bigger prize and the focus, not the already modest wages of a couple of people at the front of the tube.
Labor is the most significant cost for an airline and one of the few that can be controlled.
The cost/productivity of labor is one of the few factors that airlines can control and is often the decider between profit and loss.
Sustainable Alternative Fuels (SAF) constitute around 0.1% of total jet fuel consumption world wide and presently SAF costs 2-3 times as much as jet fuel.
IATA expect SAF’s to increase to only 3% by 2030 and 50% by 2050 at which point its possible that SAF will become price competitive.
But for the foreseeable future, it is labor costs that airlines will be focusing on and reducing cockpit crew numbers will be a significant factor in this.
Both Boeing and Airbus have invested substantial amounts of money into research and development of single pilot and pilotless airliners. The single pilot or reduced crew cockpit will happen sooner than you think.