These policies also protect carriers against claims stemming from crash-related injuries and property damage. Airlines buy policies to cover losses if an aircraft is damaged or destroyed. Though crashes are rare, they do happen and when they do, airline balance sheets take a hit. Recovering those costs means putting airplanes to work and that can be risky. Indigo Airlines – an Indian start-up carrier – forked out an equally hefty amount for its fleet. In 2011, American Airlines spent over $30bn (£24bn) on revamping its fleet. Though airlines get discounts for bulk orders, the final bill can still be substantial. Its larger, twin-aisle counterpart – the Boeing 777 – costs over $300m (£240m). The Boeing 737 – a small, single-aisle passenger jet – costs upwards of $100m (£80m) apiece. Pilotless technology also threatens these professions.Īircraft aren’t cheap. These institutions employ tens of thousands of personnel – like flight instructors, ground lecturers and simulation experts – to run pilot training programs worldwide. So do universities, colleges and small flight schools. Corporate flight academies train an increasing number of today’s aviators. That’s because automating flying doesn’t just threaten commercial airline jobs. Labour unions have allies in their fight against algorithms. Airline pilots are backed by powerful labour unions, organisations that use collective bargaining, campaign contributions and political lobbying to influence issues affecting their members. That's hardly an easy task considering the unique skillset flying demands. Delegating this task to machines would produce widespread unemployment among pilots, culminating in a struggle to ply their skills to a new trade. The airline industry employs tens of thousands of aviators worldwide – skilled professionals who ferry billions of passengers across trillions of kilometers. While the technology promises to revolutionise travel, its asking price is jobs – specifically, piloting jobs. Pilotless planes are a prime example of this. Norway’s plan for a fleet of electric planes.This reality is best summed up by Nicholas Carr, in his book, The Glass Cage, Automation and Us: “There is no economic law that says that everyone, or even most people, automatically benefit from technological progress.” The result was job offers for some workers and pink slips for others. The introduction of the automobile shifted consumer demand away from trains much like the railways had, in decades prior, displaced canals and waterways as major forms of transportation. Innovation invariably creates winners and losers. However, the supply of new pilots is struggling to keep up with demand, producing what Boeing has called “one of the biggest challenges” facing the airline industry.īut while pilotless technology offers relief, it poses challenges of its own that could ultimately stand in the way of autonomous airlines taking to the skies. With demand for air travel soaring, over 800,000 new pilots may be needed over the next 20 years. It’s unmanned flight that could be aviation’s next big transformation.Īt this year’s Paris Air Show, Airbus said it’s trying to attract aviation regulators to the idea of pilotless commercial travel. Forget standing seats, in-flight VR or luggage-tracking apps.
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