Useless F/O ?

The last one of Michael O'Leary :

Ryanair's ever-controversial boss has called for the second pilot to be dumped from the flight deck of aircraft to save money.
Michael O'Leary suggested air stewardesses could be trained to take over and land the plane in the event of a crisis.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1308852/Let-stewardesses-land-plane-crisis-says-Ryanair-boss-Airline-wants-ditch-pilots.html#ixzz0yZYaD9bO

As one could have guessed, already a lot of flak about this one : pilots unions, BALPA, on PPRuNe, etc ...
"There is no such thing as bad publicity !"

We all know that O'Leary will say almost anything to court free publicity.

However I think he has stepped over a line here, and needs some form of censure from the aviation authorities.

As an airline CEO you cannot be allowed to uteer such flippant statements, however bizarre, about the safety regulations on aircraft. While price is a factor in the low-cost airline market, passenger and staff safety is always the primary factor in determining one's choice of carrier.

O'Leary would do well to steer clear of this topic.

A good and enjoyable piece on Michael O'Leary (reference found on PPRuNe) :

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_37/b4194058006755.htm

a few excerpts :

Wearing sneakers, jeans, and an off-the-rack short-sleeved shirt, O'Leary is pontificating in his office at the company's conspicuously shabby headquarters on the outskirts of Dublin Airport

O'Leary's subversive vision looks increasingly like a viable alternative to the status quo, which is threatened by obsolescence, attrition, and consolidation. He says what the others are thinking, and, more often than not, doing.

The question hanging over the airline business and passengers alike is not whether the O'Leary Way will be further adopted by airlines scrambling for survival but how far and fast his paradigm will spread.

"In many ways, travel is pleasant and enriching," O'Leary says, leaning back in his chair. "It's just that the physical process of getting from point A to point B shouldn't be pleasant, nor enriching. It should be quick, efficient, affordable, and safe."

O'Leary finds questions about legacy equally annoying. "I'm not in it for the pride of how I served mankind," he says. "Would I like to see a statue made of me? Absolutely not."
He did concede one point of pride. "We finally exposed the myth that air travel was some kind of a uniquely sexual experience," he says. "It's not. It's just a commoditized way of getting from A to B."

Michael O'Leary is not alone on this way of thinking :

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is looking to provide single-pilot operation for commercial passenger jets in the 2020-2025 time frame, The Wall Street Journal reported.

By 2020, Embraer said, air-traffic control will be modernised in both the US and in Europe, and new technology will make one-person cockpits feasible.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/aircraft-manufacturer-embraer-considers-single-pilot-planes/story-e6frfq80-1225916323230?area=travel#ixzz0z1ZwSedv

Delta also tried the same .... beware

maybe f/o are needed .... "whoops i thought it was in neutral, maybe i will serve the coffee instead"


http://www.vidiload.com/video/102768/Delta_747_Hits_The_Tow_Tug/

A pilot for budget carrier Ryanair has come up with a new money-saving idea after the firm suggested axing co-pilots on flights -- replace the airline's boss with a flight attendant.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/7961118/ryanair-pilot-proposes-no-frills-idea

In a typically mischievous response, O'Leary conceded that a flight attendant would be a "far more attractive" chief executive and said the suggestion was being seriously examined.
"After all, if we can train cabin crew to land the plane, it should be no problem training them to do Michael's job as well."

better than stand up this ENCORE!

If this DOES happen, I will never step on a Ryanair flight.
We all saw what happened when a plane ditched into a river in the US - would it have been so successful if a junior member of the cabin crew had been the only support the pilot had ?
I very much doubt it !

Get a grip Ryanair and don't take people's safety for granted just to gain more market share - that's just irresponsible.