Pilots are cheaper than billions ?
Assuming 50,000 pilots flying for flag carriers at $200,000 per year, the annual pay for airline pilots is 10 billion a year.
At current crew pay rates, 30 billion dollars of R&D is reasonable investment to remove pilots from the cockpit.
As far as the cost of hardware it's a wash - removal of TSO displays etc., cover the cost and weight of the extra computers. The communications bandwidth and security issues are being addressed outside the aviation community and on the way via new SATCOM networks.
The question is how, when and where - people are running the numbers and drafting schedules today.
Timelines being developed suggest - 12+- 5 years for airfreight add 10+-5 more for PAX.
Last edited by harpf; 31st Oct 2015 at 07:53.