Convenience - Driving Force Towards Autonomous Flight

Through this article, Jeffrey Lai, M.Sc. Pilot Training Development Manager, Flair Airlines explores how technological progress in aviation—especially the reduction of pilots in commercial cockpits—faces public hesitation, yet follows a familiar pattern: fear gives way to convenience. Drawing parallels with past tech adoption, it argues that trust in automation will grow as efficiency and safety evolve.

Pilots dread it, passengers fear it. Yet the aviation industry continues to advance toward reducing the number of pilots on commercial aircraft’s flight decks. The potential benefits—cost savings and increased efficiency—are simply too compelling to ignore.

However, the most significant challenge remains public acceptance. After all, highly automated aircraft serve little purpose if no one is willing to board them. The silver lining in this uphill battle lies in a well-documented human tendency: travelers, like all people, are often willing to sacrifice a great deal for the sake of Convenience, especially when cost savings are involved.

Consider the evolution of financial transactions. Not long ago, accepting a credit card payment without a signature seemed unthinkable—yet here we are. Sharing credit card numbers online was once considered an open invitation to fraud, but today, it’s standard practice. Internet-based purchases were once considered risky and reckless, but now they dominate commerce. Even online banking, once feared for its potential security risks, has become a routine part of daily life. Time and again, convenience triumphs in the battle for technology adoption.

As artificial intelligence (AI) advances, public acceptance of reducing the number of pilots in commercial aircraft may naturally accelerate. AI offers enhancements in workload management, situational awareness, communication, automation oversight, stress and fatigue reduction, and consistency in flying skills—all contributing to improved operational efficiency and, ultimately, a more convenient travel experience.

“Convenience has a history of winning over fear—just as it did with online banking and e-commerce, it may eventually do the same with pilotless flight”

For now, passengers’ fear of the unknown dominates their minds. What if technology makes poor decisions? What if it gets hacked? What if it fails? The truth is not that these things won’t happen, but that they will. As history has shown with the “unsinkable” Titanic, non-flammable paint, and the pioneering Comet jet aircraft, failure often precedes progress.

The instinct to resist reducing the number of pilots in commercial aircraft stems primarily from concerns over technological failures leading to accidents. And yes, such failures will occur occasionally. But it’s important to remember that our current system, in which most flight decks have two pilots, also occasionally experiences incidents due to human error. The keyword here is occasionally. What, then, is the real difference?

To mitigate human error, the industry introduced Crew Resource Management training more than 40 years ago. While this approach has reduced incidents, it has not eliminated them—people continue to be harmed in aviation accidents. The ultimate goal of zero incidents remains out of reach. If the number of pilots is reduced or completely removed from commercial aircraft, incidents will undoubtedly continue, but just as before, the industry will respond by refining technology and improving safety measures in turn.

So, whether humans continue piloting aircraft or technology takes the helm, both approaches require learning from mistakes and implementing fixes. The comparison then boils down to one question: who can learn faster—humans or technology? This debate has valid arguments on both sides.

The final consideration is implementation speed. Correcting human errors requires pilot training, which raises questions about learning timeframes and execution success rates, as not all pilots learn at the same speed. By contrast, correcting technology errors often involves simply upgrading software or replacing components—changes that can be deployed far more quickly. Unlike humans, technology possesses a kind of “photographic memory,” an advantage that is difficult for humans to compete with.

Flying in a commercial aircraft without onboard pilots may seem daunting, for now. But history suggests that human behavior—our tendency to prioritize Convenience— will continue to drive the industry forward, seeking solutions, refining processes, and advancing technology in pursuit of fully autonomous commercial flight. Put another way, those resisting this change may unwittingly contribute to its momentum.