Ryanair: Costs could be reduced by flying without Co-Pilot

[Propwash]

SEMAINE DU JEUDI 18 Mars 2010

Les réduire encore, voire, si la législation l'y autorise, en supprimant le copilote. « Ces règles de double commande datent de 1920 ! Faut-il vraiment payer un type qui surveille que le pilote ne s'endorme pas ? »

Source

My French isn't that good but isn't Mr. O'Leary saying "Redundancy rules are from the 1920's! Costs could be reduced by flying without a first officer and why should we pay for a guy who's controlling another one just to prevent him from sleeping"

[andorra-airport]

Here we go again. Ryanair's weekly free publicity in the news(papers) with another idiot plan.

So, no more co-pilots MO? Sure, as long one of your cabincrew has Microsoft Flight Simulator at home, no problem.......

Did I mention cabincrew? Ow....too expensive MO! Only 1 pilot in total is enough no?! Same as in a city-bus...

[Propwash]

Here we go again. Ryanair's weekly free publicity in the news(papers) with another idiot plan.

Probable cause:
He hasn't visited his Psychic Advisor(s) for a while

[galaxy]

The pilot can also serve the passengers while flying autopilot.After landing he has 25 minutes to clean the whole plane before takeoff to another destination.O'Leary will be happy if he has to pay only 1 employee / aircraft .
Too bad for this early april Fool's joke .

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Okay thank you MoL for another great free advertisement lesson !!
But wait .. he wasn't first !!!
KLM said something similar last month ...
Why not a double job for the copilot..
during 'normal' situations he can help behind, during take-off
-landing-rough weather .. he/she isn't necessary behind so ??
LCC can cut one cabin crew !!
It's now 2010 !!!
And almost every carrier is looking cost cutts and FR is just the leading way to go .
( FR is the leader until in the absurb but LH-SN-SAS-EI-... will follow.
Free your mind
CX-B

[Propwash]

KLM said something similar last month ...
Why not a double blowjob for the copilot..

Especially the KLM should keep their 'BIG' mouth shut!

Remember March 27, 1977 Los Rodeos ?

Even in 2010 the KLM isn't 'under normal conditions/situations and WITH Co-Pilot' capable of using real runways, see Bijna ramp Schiphol: Vliegtuig steeg op vanaf taxibaan

[Conti764]

Isn't it necessary (under international rules) that in any normal situation during the entire duration of flight, a full cockpit crew (either two or three) should be present, except for certain circumstances (e.g. going to the lavatory)?

I am asking this about KLM's plans since even MoL knows his plan is impossible to execute so it once again is free publicity in a lot of papers.

I wonder if Ryanair has a special team to make up idiotic ideas (standing places, pay for lavatory visit, one pilot is enough,...) to get free publicity?

[flightlover]

Oh-oh, I shouldnt be saying this. But wait until they find out you can ,with slight adjustments, take even more poeple. Cargo seats any one?
Or is this the goal of the no luggage policy?

[Stij]

Propbably they're sending out impossible, illegal ideas, because all the possible cost cutting is done. I think MOL is getting bored.

Cheers,

Stij

[jan_olieslagers]

Ryanair is gravely disappointing me here - I' ve never known them to abide by halfhearted measures. The one obvious thing to do is to abandon crews at all and fly the planes fully automatic. Surely 21st century technology is capable of that? Mr O'Leary is clearly close to retirement, missing this great opportunity to really reduce fares!

[TCAS_climb]

Costs could be even further reduced by shutting down Ryanair completely !

[flightlover]

Costs could be even further reduced by shutting down Ryanair completely !

Not sure about that one, how to ditch 200 planes and all employees without loosing money.

Only feasible option looks to me to sell the company all together.

[cathay belgium]

Only feasible option looks to me to sell the company all together.

To Easyjet , KLM 'baby?' or LH 'baby (SN?)'.
In the end it all comes back to the basic LCC-mentality : reducing costs.

Or we start paying again reasonable fares altogether ( meaning more less flying for me ) or
accept this basic statement of LCC.

Free your mind

I'm sorry
CX-B

PS Fact is that KLM has offcourse their mistakes in the very past and the last weeks,
but that isn't the fact by FR ( only the CIA-crash?? I can remember for !!- FR didn't
worked on safety-issues before ( standing of pax no issue I suppose comfort is not the same as
safety )
Don't forget also that the option of a copilot is what I said before, FR is flying short distances (except maybe Marocco ( most within 1,5 flight !! ) ).
This can't be said to KLM or other companies !

PPS I remember that same issue of an optional THIRD pilot with long haul flights !
CX isn't LCC and way preferable than KLM and FR.
So..it's not only me who dare to think that aviation in the future will grow to cost-cutting
and will change to another attitude, maybe new technologies will reduce risks to a normal level of
obeying flying without 2/3 rd pilots...
Trains, busses , planes ... or airbusses ..
I know it's a risky issue on this forum , I'm not encouraging these changes but maybe we can just discuss
it' .
Moderator, maybe you can put these in a new topic, it's not completely offtopic but within the 3rd issue
in not a year on 3 different airliners maybe something just started ...

[1V1]

Brilliant idea! In the current aviation environment you would have at least one fatal crash every week. Would you board a single pilot airliner with a young pilot, 250 hours, at the commands? A co-pilot has to gain experience. I'd rather not fly an airline where the CEO guesses the young guys will have enough luck to survive until they have enough experience not to need the luck anymore. Anyway the aviation environment is not made to have airliners operated by single pilot, it's way to hectic and only getting more hectic. Time pressure, weather conditions, complicated procedures, very busy ATC, minimum separation, rest times, emergency situations, and I didn't even mention a break to go to the restroom, make it impossible to operate in a reasonable safe manner a modern airliner.
I've flown single pilot, but Mr Martin Baker was my insurance if things would go badly wrong, and I hope I will be retired before someone behind a desk decides the time has come to eliminate one of the pilot seats in an airliner.

[KLC]

Where on earth did you hear the news KLM wants it's cockpit crew to help out the cabin crew during the flight? The only thing I heard is that they are looking for pilots who are willing to work -temporarily- in the cabin, as they have too many pilots and too few cabin crew. They would not function as active cockpit crew; instead, they would be trained and working as cabin crew.

The KLM management has been doing an awesome job to keep everyone within the company, despite these harsh times, and this is proof of that strategy.

[fcw]

Only one pilot is probably a step to far. But one pilot and a dog could work. The pilot should feed the dog at regular times, so when the pilot falls asleep and forgets to feed the dog, the dog would bark and this should wake up the pilot. Also the dog could be trained to bite the pilot if he is about to touch the wrong buttons...

[KLC]

And in case of pilot incapacitation, the dog is without a doubt going to land the aircraft.

[Propwash]

Oh-oh, I shouldnt be saying this. But wait until they find out you can ,with slight adjustments, take even more poeple. Cargo seats any one?
Or is this the goal of the no luggage policy?

Don't Worry, Be € Happy
Within a matter of time FR will devide their poor man's A380's (B738's) into a Upper (cattle cabin) and Lower (coffin 'corner') Deck class

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Within a matter of time FR will devide their poor man's A380's (B738's) into a Upper (cattle cabin) and Lower (coffin 'corner') Deck class

Now that's an idea !
If MoL read this forum ( oh god, I hopes this is the case... ) I bet that's next week free advertisement !!!
Coffin' corner 30 : lay-flat class places within the first 10 for free !

CX-B

Okay, but on-topic again : why can trains/busses do the job without a 'dog' and aircraft 'not'.
Risks are the same and lives are in both cases on risk.
The dog in trains is called a dead-man button, we accept this without thinking!
Technology of a dead man button in planes already exist with auto-landing,GPS,etc...
Or is aviation that 'posh' ?

[TCAS_climb]

Oh please !!!

Dig http://www.skybrary.aero/ on risk, human factors and safety management. Then do an airline pilot job for at least 6 months. Then, perhaps, you'll have a standpoint worth fighting for. But most probably by then you will have joined the group of the supporters of asymmetrical redundancy.