Who Will Be Flying Your Planes by 2025?
Posted by Sue Anderson, 12th May 2015
Technology is advancing at a phenomenal rate and so we got to thinking about the airline industry and how things might change in the future. Will commercial aircrafts as we know them today be unrecognisable in a decade's time? Will we just have jetpacks to get from A to B?
We polled 2,744 people aged 18 and over from around the UK in our latest survey and asked participants for their opinions on the future of air travel. We really wanted to find out how people were predicting the way we travel to and from our holiday destinations could change.
We asked, 'How long do you think it will be before all commercial flights are self-flying, as opposed to manned by pilots?' If they felt like this would never be a reality, they could state 'never'. However, only 4% of the people taking part felt this would never happen. The majority, 52%, told us that they thought self-flying commercial planes could be in the air by 2025 and that pilots would be obsolete by that point.
When all respondents were asked if they would feel safe as a passenger on a pilotless, self-flying plane though, only 3% said that they would. 91% of the respondents said they would not feel safe in such a situation, whilst the remaining 6% were unsure how they would feel as a passenger on a self-flying commercial aircraft.
When asked we how they would feel about being a passenger on a commercial aircraft that was remotely piloted (i.e. if the aircraft was unmanned, but a pilot took-off and landed the plane remotely, in the same way that drones currently operate) 78% of the respondents said they would feel 'safer' than if the aircraft was purely self-flying.
Furthermore, 65% of the respondents taking part in the poll felt that the majority of airport staff would be replaced by machines or gadgets within the next ten years, such as those on check-in desks, at security points and passport control. We think that could be true too!
With self-driving cars not far from being a widespread possibility on our roads and unmanned drones already a reality, it makes sense to think that the same could happen in our commercial airspace and beyond. Pilots already have the help of autopilot during flights, so I'd say it's not all that unrealistic to think that they may become redundant altogether in ten years or so.
However, judging by our results, a lot would have to be done to reassure people that it was a safe way to travel; because so many people at the moment would feel unsafe as a passenger on such a flight. It's hard to predict exactly when and how flights will change and the advancements we will witness, but it's certainly one area to watch.
We polled 2,744 people aged 18 and over from around the UK in our latest survey and asked participants for their opinions on the future of air travel. We really wanted to find out how people were predicting the way we travel to and from our holiday destinations could change.
Majority think pilots will be obsolete in 10 Years' time
We asked, 'How long do you think it will be before all commercial flights are self-flying, as opposed to manned by pilots?' If they felt like this would never be a reality, they could state 'never'. However, only 4% of the people taking part felt this would never happen. The majority, 52%, told us that they thought self-flying commercial planes could be in the air by 2025 and that pilots would be obsolete by that point.
When all respondents were asked if they would feel safe as a passenger on a pilotless, self-flying plane though, only 3% said that they would. 91% of the respondents said they would not feel safe in such a situation, whilst the remaining 6% were unsure how they would feel as a passenger on a self-flying commercial aircraft.
When asked we how they would feel about being a passenger on a commercial aircraft that was remotely piloted (i.e. if the aircraft was unmanned, but a pilot took-off and landed the plane remotely, in the same way that drones currently operate) 78% of the respondents said they would feel 'safer' than if the aircraft was purely self-flying.
65% of people think technology will replace majority of airport staff by 2025
Furthermore, 65% of the respondents taking part in the poll felt that the majority of airport staff would be replaced by machines or gadgets within the next ten years, such as those on check-in desks, at security points and passport control. We think that could be true too!
With self-driving cars not far from being a widespread possibility on our roads and unmanned drones already a reality, it makes sense to think that the same could happen in our commercial airspace and beyond. Pilots already have the help of autopilot during flights, so I'd say it's not all that unrealistic to think that they may become redundant altogether in ten years or so.
However, judging by our results, a lot would have to be done to reassure people that it was a safe way to travel; because so many people at the moment would feel unsafe as a passenger on such a flight. It's hard to predict exactly when and how flights will change and the advancements we will witness, but it's certainly one area to watch.
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