Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary (Getty Images) |
DUBLIN, Ireland -- The CEO of budget airline Ryanair -- who famously suggested installing coin-operated lavatories on planes -- has another controversial idea for cutting costs: eliminating co-pilots.
Michael O'Leary said in a recent interview that it's not necessary to have co-pilots on all flights.
"Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it," O'Leary told Bloomberg Businessweek.
He suggested that flight attendants could be trained to help land a plane if anything should go wrong.
Ryanair, which is based in Dubin, Ireland, is known as much for its rock-bottom fares as the fees that go along with those.
O'Leary is famous for trying to find new ways to fly cheaper.
He's even proposed offering passengers the option of standing in a cabin with handrails, which he says could slash fairs by 25 percent.
Critics say his latest suggestion about axing co-pilots goes too far and is unsafe.
Michael O'Leary said in a recent interview that it's not necessary to have co-pilots on all flights.
"Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it," O'Leary told Bloomberg Businessweek.
He suggested that flight attendants could be trained to help land a plane if anything should go wrong.
Ryanair, which is based in Dubin, Ireland, is known as much for its rock-bottom fares as the fees that go along with those.
O'Leary is famous for trying to find new ways to fly cheaper.
He's even proposed offering passengers the option of standing in a cabin with handrails, which he says could slash fairs by 25 percent.
Critics say his latest suggestion about axing co-pilots goes too far and is unsafe.
