The big advantage of the digital “glass cockpits” was the ability to reduce needed flight crew from 3 to 2. Before the -400, all 747 flights would have a captai

The big advantage of the digital “glass cockpits” was the ability to reduce needed flight crew from 3 to 2. Before the -400, all 747 flights would have a captain, first officer and a flight engineer (sitting behind the two pilots, monitoring engines and other parameters), while modern flights do away with the flight engineer. The glass cockpits aren’t necessarily easier to read or learn, but they do allow a lot more information to be presented in a much more compact space (and only display alerts rather than always having all sensors visible at all times)