Let me speak with great sincerity to the guy spreading this idea around – “Are you out of your mind?” Some goober throws this idea out there and free market loons pick up on it. Is there anything, no matter how important that the current business philosophy in this country doesn’t consider a possible cost cutting item? Large airliners are designed to be flown by two people. Further, I am a big fan of “Seconds From Disaster” and a half dozen other programs which discuss why bad things happen. Several of the episodes involve overworked crews desperately trying to cope with too much information. I wonder how many times that second guy in the cockpit managed to save the plane because the two of them could cope with the flow of information.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s an actual expert –

Copilots perform just as many takeoffs as captains, and just as many landings. They are at the controls in good weather and bad. The captain has ultimate authority (and a fatter paycheck), but duties are shared more or less evenly. Due to quirks in seniority bidding, it’s not uncommon for a copilot to be more experienced than the captain sitting next to him. And if not for the number of epaulet stripes and seating protocols (captain on the left wearing four; first officer on the right wearing three), a lay observer in a cockpit jump seat would be hard pressed to figure out which of the pilots was in fact the boss.

Cost cutting is a tool, and it’s okay to cut costs if it’s a reasonable decision. But let’s work toward that standard of reason. It’s important.

James Pilant