Passenger Attitudes to Flying on a Single-Pilot Commercial Aircraft

There is little specific research on people’s opinions of single-pilot commercial airline operation and whether they are willing to fly by this means. This study examines passengers’ attitudes to help determine their willingness to fly on an aircraft of this type. Part 1 involved four focus groups providing their views on the matter. In Part 2, an online survey was developed from the output of the focus groups that gathered passenger perceptions of single-pilot operations. The feedback from the focus groups highlighted distrust in technology, concerns about pilot health and workload, and the need for more information on single-pilot operations but also that if there were substantial savings passengers may be willing to fly on such an aircraft. The results of the survey suggested three main dimensions to passenger opinion on the subject: state of the pilot; trust in the technology; ticket price and reputation. Responses on these scales could determine with some certainty passengers’ willingness to fly or not to fly on a single-pilot airliner.