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> I would fly domestic automated flights if the automation was proven as safe, the above conditions were met, and the price was 40-50% cheaper. You believe pil
by rsj_hn 4y ago
> I would fly domestic automated flights if the automation was proven as safe, the above conditions were met, and the price was 40-50% cheaper.
You believe pilot salaries are 40-50% of airline ticket prices? A pilot makes ~130K per year and flies, say, 2 trips a day, so ~500 trips a year. So on a plane with 200 people, they are each paying about $1.30 per pilot. Two pilots, round it up to $5 per trip. That's how much you'd save if the automation system was free.
But, hey, I'd also fly an automated flight that was proven safe for a 50% discount. Even a manual flight.
- V99 4y agoExperienced captains at the major ("legacy") airlines make considerably more than you think. Up to ~$350 per hour (plus benefits, retirement, etc.) On the other hand, salaries are VERY back-loaded towards the end of their career. A first-year first officer ("copilot") is maybe $90/hr. And if you switch employers, you start all over again at the bottom of the ladder. A strange world compared to hopping around tech companies like most of us here are familiar with. Also pilots do not work 40hrs/week, and the more common airframe variants are maybe 150 seats on average. Those all somewhat cancel out, but it's probably more like double your estimate. Still not a huge fraction of ticket price. Part of the problem with a single pilot is how a new person gets the experience in the real world of big boy planes. You need 1500 hours of flight time before airlines will hire you. New pilots often get most of those hours as CFI's tooling around teaching others how to fly a 4-seat Cessna 172. Ready to get in a 737 with them at hour 1501?
- quickthrower2 4y agoHopefully a single pilot law change wouldn’t also mean this. Scary.
- bombcar 4y agoYou can’t just jump into a 737 from your CFI hours on a 172; you still do need a type rating. The required hours are a problem; the solution is not to go to one pilot but to go back to three, so the third pilot can build actual flight hours in type without issue.
- gkiely 4y agoI didn’t phrase this well, good call out. Now that I’ve thought about it what I’m actually trying to ask is… What would it take to drop flight prices 50%? Automated flights, a change in fuel technology, 0 marketing spend, reduced maintenance? More specifically, what is the bare bones cost to transport a human from point a to b, safely, in the same or less time it takes a flight.
- rsj_hn 4y ago> What would it take to drop flight prices 50%? 1. Free fuel. Fuel is the biggest cost of flights. For domestic flights, about half the ticket cost. 2. No taxes/government mandated fees (including fuel taxes). These are the second biggest cost, and for international flights, can easily be half the ticket price, but for domestic flights, about 20% of the ticket price. 3. Free planes. Planes are the third biggest cost. 4. Free administration. The Airline bureaucracy is the fourth biggest cost. 5. Free Stewardess labor. Fifth biggest cost. 6. Free Pilots.
- Ekaros 4y agoWhat about airport slots and fees?
- rsj_hn 4y agoI rolled that into mandatory fees, assuming the airport was owned by the government. I know there are for-profit private airports, but I was keeping things simple. And yes, airports have to be paid for, as do planes, labor, administration, and fuel :) But we are assuming magical powers here, or the ability to provide all of these services for half the cost.
- bombcar 4y agoReducing convenience - replace as many possible flights between city pairs with as few giant jumbos as possible. Instead of many many flights between LAX and CHI just have a few A380s in cattleclass. Saves a bit on fuel and a bunch on other costs. But people would be unhappy about it.