That's it, enough!

I'm gonna start taking a parachute with me as carry-on baggage. If the plane gets into trouble and there is not a qualified pilot on board to land it safely, then I'm outta there.

Originally posted by Now_Then
those half standing half sitting things for short hall

Are you talking about stewardesses here ?

Aren't there laws set out by the civil aviation authority that regulate this sort of thing ? I always co pilots were a neccessity not a luxury for commerical airliners ?

Guess what, Ryanair will save a lot of cash, because it won't exist.

Imagine being on a flight - the pilot flakes out, then you crash.

Originally posted by Discotech

Originally posted by Now_Then
those half standing half sitting things for short hall

Are you talking about stewardesses here ?

No that's these 'seats'....



As for the rules I have no idea, but I bet they (Ryan air) have figured out some loophole or something on that... I certainty would not be happy with a single pilot... What if he looses the plot? There have been occurrences where a pilot has deliberately tried to crash a jet liner as part of a suicide... The one I'm thinking of was the subject of one of those 'Seconds from disaster' type doco's, it was a cargo plane and the idea was that his family would get a huge payout... It was the co pilot and the engineer that beat him almost to death, very scary the dude almost pulled it off, they literally fought for their lives while flying a big old Boeing and landing it with a mad man in the cabin.

He can't (and won't) fly the B737 single pilot in European airspace anytime soon.

And in case that the captain should keel over it would be a bad idea to have the other pilot working back there in the pax cabin in these days of closed and locked cockpit doors.

As for the standing seats i don't get the point, it would hardly save any weight, and the B737-800 is limited to 189 pax due to the number of emergency exits.

[edit on 5-9-2010 by Ivar_Karlsen]

Like it or not air travel with out pilots is coming. I may see it for cargo planes in my time but probably not for passenger traffic.
As to the standing seats, the max number of passengers is a rule for the U.S., I do not know how it would affect other countries. I do know many countries do fly the same types of planes with greater loads.

Originally posted by RedGolemAs to the standing seats, the max number of passengers is a rule for the U.S., I do not know how it would affect other countries. I do know many countries do fly the same types of planes with greater loads.

Well i fly the B737-800 in EU and the rules are basicly the same.

We're a low cost company and operates the -800 in one class configuration with 189 seats at the moment (186 from november this year.) 189 pax is what it is certified for, can't stuff in more than that anyway.

Originally posted by Discotech

Originally posted by Now_Then
those half standing half sitting things for short hall

Are you talking about stewardesses here ?

Aren't there laws set out by the civil aviation authority that regulate this sort of thing ? I always co pilots were a neccessity not a luxury for commerical airliners ?

No such thing as stewardesses anymore, and there hasn't been for a LONG LONG time.
And, most airline employees know enough to fly a plane or land a plane if they are worth anything at all....
Larger planes can land themselves, with a slight amount of help.

If the Flight attendants can be used as co-pilots they would most likely have to be paid the same salary. Having two jobs instead of one with twice the responsibility? I don't know if many attendants would volunteer for that stupidity!

Zindo

Forgive me if I'm getting this completely wrong, but aren't the actual pilots more of a backup now then anything and the autopilot can land and fly a route without much assistance from the pilot.

I remember watching a myth busters episode where they landed a plane (ok a simulation) on full autopilot, and were also able to land it manually with just directions from the control tower.

So the co pilot was once the back up for the pilot, but now the pilot is the back up for the auto pilot which then has an extra back up of a co pilot. It's turned what was once a double redundancy into a triple redundancy.
This is now leading to real world redundancy for copilots

Originally posted by Ivar_Karlsen


We're a low cost company and operates the -800 in one class configuration with 189 seats at the moment (186 from november this year.) 189 pax is what it is certified for, can't stuff in more than that anyway.

I just did see some info one time that some companies were adding seats in excess of what the plane was certified for in the U.S. I don't know where it was happening but it was happening.

Originally posted by davespanners
Forgive me if I'm getting this completely wrong, but aren't the actual pilots more of a backup now then anything and the autopilot can land and fly a route without much assistance from the pilot.

What you said is basically right. Now on main routs in the U.S. planes fly reduced vertical separation minimums. That requires the plane to be using an auto pilot. So the plane is on auto pilot for most of the time on most flights in the U.S. Not that I have the data to back that up.

This comment made my head spin. How is it plausible to remove a second pilot and appoint stewardess to fly planes? This either is a horrible joke or the CEO has gone complete retarded.

Or could it be a publicity stunt? If it is what kind of publicity stunt is it? Who would want to use a airline whose CEO suggests nixing out 2nd pilot. The whole article it is hilariously disturbing.