The friendly skies may one day be a very lonely place for airline pilots — and a somewhat nervous one for passengers.
The Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer has a vision of the airliner of the future. That vision has one person at the controls.
That’s right, no co-pilot — and yes, they’re serious about this. At least, Embraer vice-president Luiz Sergio Chiessi is when he talks to the aviation press:
“We believe that by 2020-25, the technology will be available, mainly due to the evolution of the air traffic management systems,” Chiessi said.
Embraer isn’t a household name among Americans, even those who’ve already flown on their airplanes. If you told them that the land of samba, soccer and thong bikinis is now a major player in the world’s aerospace industry, a lot of them wouldn’t believe you.
But that’s exactly what Embraer is.
“Airlines are not coming to us with the idea – this is more a vision that we have,” Chiessi says. “We believe that it is technically possible, but we don’t know if it is going to be accepted by the public and the authorities.”
No joke. Indeed, only one airline has publicly embraced this idea so far, and it’s exactly who you’d expect — Ireland’s Ryanair.
Only this week, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said he wants permission from Irish aviation authorities to operate his Boeing 737 jets with a single pilot. Of course, this is the same guy who floated the idea of installing pay toilets on planes and letting passengers stand during flights in exchange for cheaper fares.
Since 737s are certified for crews of two, Mr. O’Leary’s latest venture into Ryanair Bizarro World probably won’t get too far, but that’s not the point. The idea is “out there” now, and you can bet your rent that he’s not the only airline CEO looking at it.
This could actually happen.
Before you slip automatically into “No way, Jose” mode, take a look back at the evolution of airliners.
People initially were uneasy about flying on planes whose engines had no propellers, or crossing the world’s oceans on jumbo jets with only two engines instead of four. Pilots were dismayed to see their navigators and flight engineers replaced by computers. Today, it’s all routine.
But is a one-pilot airliner a step too far? A single pilot flying upwards of 400 people might be perfectly fine when everything’s normal. What happens when it’s not?
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became a hero when he brilliantly set down his stricken US Airways jet in the Hudson River, without losing a single life. But he had a co-pilot, Jeffrey Skiles.
Being an expert pilot and all-around cool customer, Mr. Sullenberger probably could’ve pulled it off alone. But even Capt. Sully gives a lot of credit to his co-pilot.
In the world envisioned by Embraer and Ryanair, Mr. Skiles would not even have been in the cockpit that day.
Will any of this happen tomorrow? No. But given the potential cost savings to airlines, you get the feeling this is an idea whose time is coming.