Ryanair CEO Calls For The Elimination of Co-Pilots To Save Money

We have followed the dubious work of Michael O’Leary, chief executive officer of Ryanair as he has struggled to make aircraft into human cattle cars and to charge from every possible convenience like use of a toilet. Demonstrating that he has even less regard for safety than he does comfort, O’Leary is calling for the elimination of co-pilots — suggesting that flight attendants could be trained to land planes where a pilot dies or becomes incapacitated.

O’Leary insisted “Really, you only need one pilot . . . Let’s take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it.” To assure those people willing to trust him with their lives, O’Leary that “[i]f the pilot has an emergency, he rings the bell, he calls her in. She could take over.”

There appear plenty of people who are willing to be treated like cattle or fly on a cut-rate airline where co-pilots are treated like luxuries. Ryanair now has 7,000 employees, flying 1,100 routes to 155 airports in 26 countries.

Source: Business Week