Pilotless planes on the horizon if public acceptance grows

Canadians may not be quite ready to fly on a pilotless aircraft but technological advances in self-driving vehicles are already opening the door to autonomous commercial flight, an increasingly attractive prospect for industry players facing a dearth of pilots.

Aviation consultant Mike Doiron believes that pilotless flights will be viable in the next five to 10 years, “but whether it’s acceptable to the general travelling public, that’ll be a whole different kettle of fish.”

Montreal’s Bombardier Inc. is watching closely as rival Chicagobased Boeing Inc. and others in the industry invest in developing systems that could reduce the number of pilots from cockpits or remove them altogether, which could save the aerospace and airline industry US$35 billion annually, according to a recent UBS report.

“Right now we feel that it’s a very effervescent area, mainly because of the renewed talk about urban air transport,” says Fassi Kafyeke, senior director strategic technology and innovation at Bombardier Aerospace, which is not currently working on any pilotless projects of its own.

Around the world, pioneering startups are being gobbled up by big players. Boeing recently acquired Aurora Flight Sciences, a company that is developing autonomous flying vehicles.