Originally Posted by
TTmex
Valid points, but the drop for someone in their 40s who has climbed the career and earnings ladder is much more than dropping a bit in early career. Another thing to factor in is the onset of technology, which is not unique to flying careers. But
it's not inconceivable that commercial pilots become obsolete to some extent in the next 10-15 years. AI-powered/flown planes and drones are already pretty sophisticated, and I doubt airline execs will think twice about cutting pilots if it can be done cheaper and safer. I appreciate there are arguments against replacing pilots and believe me, I'm on the side of pilots staying right where they are at the front, but I feel the people at the top with money will have other ideas.
In the timescale mentioned there's pretty much no chance it will happen to those flying passengers. There's a possibility that it might affect freight pilots but even there I suspect it would require new aircraft designed for fewer than two pilots which is unlikely to happen in the next five years.