The aviation industry could save around $35 billion a year by deploying unmanned aircraft but travellers are not yet ready. That is according to new research by Swiss investment bank UBS.
Cost savings
If planes could start flying without pilots, it would save quite a lot of money. For instance, the aviation industry spends about $31 billion each year on pilots and another $3 billion on related training. Moreover, fully autonomous aircraft could fly more efficiently, saving $1 billion a year in fuel.
A logical consequence is that air tickets will become cheaper. But that is not enough for many passengers to embrace the idea. Over 50% of the 8000 people surveyed by UBS about the possibility of unmanned planes in the future said they would not get on an unmanned plane, even though their travel costs would thus go down significantly.
However, the questionnaire also found that younger and more educated respondents were more willing to take a pilotless flight. Therefore, UBS estimates that the technology is bound to pass through in the future.
Far into the future
Aviation experts say they understand that people are not so keen on flying without a pilot present just yet. "This is looking so far into the future," aviation expert Chris Tarry tells The Guardian. "It would take a brave airline to take its pilots off the planes. After all, the main concern of passengers is that they arrive safely at their destination and for that, in the eyes of many of them, a pilot is needed."
Still, a lot is already being done automatically in the sky; commercial aircraft can take off, fly and land using computer technology. Computer-controlled 'autopilot' uses pilot input to determine the aircraft's direction, altitude and speed. As a result, aircraft are able to land even in poor weather conditions. On average, only two pilots still sit on a plane. Tarry: "However, it should be kept in mind that piloting a drone, an unmanned aircraft, is a completely different story."
Test phase
Meanwhile, major aircraft manufacturers are already in the midst of testing unmanned aircraft. Airbus, for instance, recently announced that it conducted a seven-minute demonstration flight over South Africa with its Sagitta unmanned vehicle. For this, a pre-programmed route was maintained.
Boeing announced ahead of the Paris airshow in June that it is testing a pilotless aircraft in simulators and that artificial intelligence systems, they say, can already take over many of pilots' decisions. The plan is for the technology to be tested in a real aircraft next year.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: The Guardian, Photo: Pixabay
