Re: Pilotless A/C
I agree. You only have to look at the aircraft coming into service (A380, B787 etc) to see that 2-man crews will be required to fly these aircraft for decades to come. As to the way ahead in civil aviation, I would hazard a guess that some form of freight ac (although to date freight ac have been derivatives of airliners) would be the first unmanned commercial aeroplanes. Only when the public is comfortable with the practice would they get into an unmanned airliner.
I think those born today would have the option of a career as a pilot, but maybe not their children. It is one of those technology-dependent jobs that exist for a century or two and then become obsolete. Lucky we were born when we were.