Originally Posted by
Dont Hang Up
I foresee the evolution firstly from dual to single pilot operation and then to someone that may perhaps be termed a "flight manager". A person who may have quite limited powers for intervening in the normal progress of the flight but whose primary purpose is to be there as someone who is seen to be in charge and who has an equal stake in the safe completion of the flight with the passengers.
Driverless trains and cars may be one thing. Ultimately one has that re-assurance that there will always be some sort of emergency stop lever and you can just walk away from the problem. It will be a very long time before passengers will look at driverless aircraft in the same way.
I'm with you on the evolution, less so on the timeframe. Maybe my question should have been 'what percentage discount would get passengers onto a pilotless aircraft?' I reckon somewhere between a third and a half would get you to a critical mass...