Britons Believe Commercial Planes to be Pilotless by 2040
Posted by Sue Anderson, 18th Jul 2012
In light of the news that trials are beginning to discover if unmanned flights could occur in the British airspace, we decided to carry out a poll to find out what you think of the idea; particularly when it comes to the future of the aircrafts that fly you to and from your holiday destinations!
Following the news that trials are beginning to see if unmanned flights could be a possibility within British airspace for search-and-rescue trips and volcanic ash cloud detection operations, we asked 1,029 people from the UK, each over the age of 18, about the concept and, realistically, when they thought it would be a possibility.
When asked, 'Do you think all commercial planes will eventually become pilotless?' just under half, 49%, said 'yes'. These respondents were then asked by what year they thought this would be mostly likely to happen, to which the most common answer was '2040'.
All those taking part were asked if they would be happy to be a passenger on a pilotless plane, if it had been proved safe, to which just a third, 33%, said 'yes'. These respondents, who had said 'yes', were asked what they thought the positives of pilotless commercial planes would be, to which 52% said they thought tickets would be cheaper due to lower staff costs, such as that of the pilot. Just over a tenth, 12%, of those who would fly on a pilotless plane also felt there would be 'less room for human error'.
On the contrary, 46% of those who would not fly on a pilotless plane, even if it had been proved safe, said they thought it would be more expensive; whilst 68% felt that a pilotless plane would leave more room for faults to occur.
When asked to state whether or not they were a confident passenger, 47% of those taking part in the study said they were, but 22% said 'not at all'. The remaining 31% of respondents said they were confident passengers 'most of the time'.
With all the advances in modern technology, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see pilotless planes at some point in the future. Here at sunshine HQ, we're not sure about how we'd feel about flying on a pilotless plane at the moment, as it's quite a strange concept! However, if large commercial airlines started offering pilotless flights, they must have had some pretty severe safety checks, so perhaps that might lay our minds at rest!
Following the news that trials are beginning to see if unmanned flights could be a possibility within British airspace for search-and-rescue trips and volcanic ash cloud detection operations, we asked 1,029 people from the UK, each over the age of 18, about the concept and, realistically, when they thought it would be a possibility.
49% think that commercial planes will eventually become pilotless
When asked, 'Do you think all commercial planes will eventually become pilotless?' just under half, 49%, said 'yes'. These respondents were then asked by what year they thought this would be mostly likely to happen, to which the most common answer was '2040'.
Just a third said they would be happy to fly on a pilotless plane
All those taking part were asked if they would be happy to be a passenger on a pilotless plane, if it had been proved safe, to which just a third, 33%, said 'yes'. These respondents, who had said 'yes', were asked what they thought the positives of pilotless commercial planes would be, to which 52% said they thought tickets would be cheaper due to lower staff costs, such as that of the pilot. Just over a tenth, 12%, of those who would fly on a pilotless plane also felt there would be 'less room for human error'.
46% thought that a pilotless plane would be more expensive
On the contrary, 46% of those who would not fly on a pilotless plane, even if it had been proved safe, said they thought it would be more expensive; whilst 68% felt that a pilotless plane would leave more room for faults to occur.
When asked to state whether or not they were a confident passenger, 47% of those taking part in the study said they were, but 22% said 'not at all'. The remaining 31% of respondents said they were confident passengers 'most of the time'.
With all the advances in modern technology, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see pilotless planes at some point in the future. Here at sunshine HQ, we're not sure about how we'd feel about flying on a pilotless plane at the moment, as it's quite a strange concept! However, if large commercial airlines started offering pilotless flights, they must have had some pretty severe safety checks, so perhaps that might lay our minds at rest!
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