The SHOW: Airlines still a "good gig"??

[Hair Warrior]

Qantas seven-hour flight to nowhere sells out in 10 minutes

With international flights restricted, Australian carrier Qantas is the latest airline to offer a flight to nowhere, taking in local sights to passengers paying up to US$2,700.

www.cnn.com

The Show is now literally just for show.

 

[Piperdriver]

Cargo is still hiring...
It's been a few years since I looked at Airwarriors; I lived on it as a pre OCS and flight school guy.... I went to page 1 of this thread for fun. It's a good and entertaining read, I highly recommend it. Page 1 started in 2011.. the airlines weren't hiring and social medial wasn't what it is today...someone actually asked the question "What's the big deal about the airlines?" Fun read. Obviously now if you're at the end of your time in the Navy you know what the big deal is and you're on the LAB....fun to see how things have changes so much.

 

[Python]

Cargo is still hiring...
It's been a few years since I looked at Airwarriors; I lived on it as a pre OCS and flight school guy.... I went to page 1 of this thread for fun. It's a good and entertaining read, I highly recommend it. Page 1 started in 2011.. the airlines weren't hiring and social medial wasn't what it is today...someone actually asked the question "What's the big deal about the airlines?" Fun read. Obviously now if you're at the end of your time in the Navy you know what the big deal is and you're on the LAB....fun to see how things have changes so much.

The question of why it’s a big deal is a silly question.
Though on that thread, questions were asked of how flying an airliner can compare to Navy flying. Those questions are valid. They don’t tell the whole story, but narrowing on that specific issue, it’s valid.

 

[Python]

@FrankTheTank I see Fred Smith’s quote in the last paragraph, but I am curious...what does the FedEx pilot population think about a timeline for single pilot ops? Obviously much sooner than fully autonomous, but since cargo is supposed to be before pax carriers, is the consensus 10/15/20+ years? I know there’s no crystal ball. Just trying to see the thoughts from those in the cargo carriers.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[FrankTheTank]

@FrankTheTank I see Fred Smith’s quote in the last paragraph, but I am curious...what does the FedEx pilot population think about a timeline for single pilot ops? Obviously much sooner than fully autonomous, but since cargo is supposed to be before pax carriers, is the consensus 10/15/20+ years? I know there’s no crystal ball. Just trying to see the thoughts from those in the cargo carriers.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

Depends on who you ask.. Some are doom and gloom and other , like myself, just don’t see it happening ever. Here is the thing.. 1) Regulation.. The FAA moves at the speed of molasses. 2) the airplane. We are in the process of buying and replacing our aged fleet and those new airplanes aren’t and frankly can’t be flown single piloted. 3) money.. how much is it going to cost for the “new” planes, regulations, insurance, etc? They pay us a lot but I bet it’s cheaper in the long run.

 

[Python]

Depends on who you ask.. Some are doom and gloom and other , like myself, just don’t see it happening ever. Here is the thing.. 1) Regulation.. The FAA moves at the speed of molasses. 2) the airplane. We are in the process of buying and replacing our aged fleet and those new airplanes aren’t and frankly can’t be flown single piloted. 3) money.. how much is it going to cost for the “new” planes, regulations, insurance, etc? They pay us a lot but I bet it’s cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for the insight. Hope you’re right!

 

[ChuckMK23]

It looks like the EU carriers will mandate pre-boarding rapid testing and dispense with mask and reduced load factors. This could be the savior for US carriers as well - and get things back to some semblance of normalcy.

 

[HuggyU2]

It took the FAA around 10 years to wring their hands and finally approve BasicMed. The data was plentiful and it really was a no-brainer to approve.
If BasicMed took 10 years, it will take 1,000 years before we go single-pilot in wide-body turbine aircraft. Maybe 10,000 years.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

I imagine the driving force will be the rest of the world, not here. Pilot training is a big issue for much of the world. That and single pilot/autonomous starting small and scaling up.

 

[FrankTheTank]

It took the FAA around 10 years to wring their hands and finally approve BasicMed. The data was plentiful and it really was a no-brainer to approve.
If BasicMed took 10 years, it will take 1,000 years before we go single-pilot in wide-body turbine aircraft. Maybe 10,000 years.

Don’t forget how long it took for something so simple as the iPad EFB.. What did that take, something like 3 years?

 

[scoolbubba]

It looks like the EU carriers will mandate pre-boarding rapid testing and dispense with mask and reduced load factors. This could be the savior for US carriers as well - and get things back to some semblance of normalcy.

This coupled with a vaccine is pretty much the only thing that will let states open up. A million people flew over Labor Day just to go see family (since nothing is open).

If things are open, I think people will travel. Maybe not 2019 levels, but enough to keep most of us gainfully employed. The big 2024 projection for a recovery to 2019 pax levels is clickbait...2019 was a record year. We don't need a record year, we just need some of the years prior to that one.

 

[Python]

Don’t forget how long it took for something so simple as the iPad EFB.. What did that take, something like 3 years?

Along these lines, unlike BasicMed or EFBs, wouldn’t the companies invest heavily to push for this to save on labor costs? I feel like that lobbying would be the difference to cut through the red tape faster, if this were to happen.

 

[SlickAg]

This coupled with a vaccine is pretty much the only thing that will let states open up. A million people flew over Labor Day just to go see family (since nothing is open).

If things are open, I think people will travel. Maybe not 2019 levels, but enough to keep most of us gainfully employed. The big 2024 projection for a recovery to 2019 pax levels is clickbait...2019 was a record year. We don't need a record year, we just need some of the years prior to that one.

“Let them open up”...

They will in November. One way or the other. I don’t think the states want to lock down for four more years.

 

[SynixMan]

Along these lines, unlike BasicMed or EFBs, wouldn’t the companies invest heavily to push for this to save on labor costs? I feel like that lobbying would be the difference to cut through the red tape faster, if this were to happen.

I think the MAX debacle has burned up tons of goodwill the public had towards the aerospace industry. And most of the MAX’s design was dictated by WN’s desire to not require extra training. Any expensive R&D will have to come out of someone’s pocket.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

I think the MAX debacle has burned up tons of goodwill the public had towards the aerospace industry. And most of the MAX’s design was dictated by WN’s desire to not require extra training. Any expensive R&D will have to come out of someone’s pocket.

There are lots of carriers that wanted a common type. It’s ludicrous to say that one carrier with hundreds of orders dictated the design of a plane with thousands of orders.

In fact Boeing announced the MAX when American announced a big Airbus order. Look it up.