Your packages may soon by flown on a massive jet with only one pilot, and it's only a matter of time before you could be too



The A350 Freighter is a potential candidate for single-pilot flying.

Private aviation and cargo operations have single-pilot operations, but not with the A350.

Single-pilot passenger aircraft is a project that airlines are working on.

The labor and shipping crises are taking flight as newer cargo planes may be developed in a way that requires only one pilot to be at the controls for most of a flight.

A plane from Israel.

The A350 Freighter was launched at the Dubai Airshow in November with a seven-aircraft order for Air Lease Corporation. It will be the second- largest twin-engine cargo plane in the skies.

A rendering of an aircraft.

The shipping crisis and the swine flu caused air carriers to win big at the show.

The main competition will be the freighter variant of the Boeing 777-300ER currently in development.

The Boeing "Big Twin" cargo plane is owned by Israel Aerospace Industries.

The world's largest twin-engine cargo plane will soon be flown by Emirates.

The largest twin-engine passenger plane once certified, the A350 Freighter, may be replaced by the new wide-body aircraft, the 777X. The program has not been launched yet because the manufacturer is focused on certifying its other aircraft.

The Boeing plane at the airshow.

The world's largest twin-engine passenger jet was just shown off by Boeing, so take a closer look at it.

The growing needs of the cargo industry will be met by the new jets from Boeing and Airbus.

The ground crew at the Los Angeles International airport wore protective masks while unloading supplies of medical personal protective equipment from a China Southern Cargo plane.

The shipping crisis has gotten so bad that some companies are chartering air cargo planes for $2 million or more for a single flight.

Passengers have long enjoyed riding on the freighter versions of the airliners.

A350 XWB aircraft.AKSARAN/Gamma-Rapho

The A350 Freighter might be a candidate for single-pilot operations, as FlightGlobal reported, despite its size, as Guillaume Faury said.

The A350-900 XWB is at the airshow.

FlightGlobal is the source.

One of the pilots would be needed to watch over the aircraft and its systems during cruise flight, as both pilots would likely be in the cockpit for takeoffs and landings.

The cockpit of an aircraft.

While one pilot is in the cockpit, the other would be resting outside.

The pilot rest area is on a Boeing 787-9.

I was shocked by the size of the airplane compartment where flight attendants sleep.

The manufacturer is hoping to broaden its capabilities in the single-pilot realm when the freighter makes its debut later in the decade.

An aircraft.Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

The high level of automation already built into the A350 makes it uniquely qualified for single-pilot flying.

The cockpit of an aircraft.

The source is the news agency.

It's not clear whether existing cargo aircraft can be adapted to single-pilot operations.

A Boeing plane.Fasttailwind

Many retired airliners do not have the same level of technology and automation found in the A350, which is why cargo airlines often use retired airliners.

A plane is stored. Thomas Pallini/Insider

Amazon and cargo airlines are looking for old and cheap passenger jets to fly packages.

The stakes are lower in a single-pilot flight than in a commercial flight with hundreds of passengers. A jet aircraft from the likes of Embraer, Pilatus, Cessna, and Cirrus can be flown with one pilot.

An aircraft.Steve Cordory/Shutterstock.com

Private jets that only require one pilot are the best.

Air carriers that fly small propeller aircraft often have only one pilot.

A FedEx Express plane. Enrico Powell

Air cargo and private aviation are where experts believe innovations in single-pilot operations will be seen first. Self-flying aircraft are being looked at as a replacement for single-pilot cargo operations.

An Xwing self-flying plane demonstration flight.

The FAA and the public are interested in how one startup is trying to win over them.

"Cargo is an easier first place to deploy this because you can get exemptions and work with the regulators to start flying initially over unpopulated areas," said the chief executive officer of Xwing.

An Xwing self-flying plane demonstration flight.

I flew on a self-flying plane where the pilots sat back as the aircraft taxied, took off, and landed on its own, and I'm convinced it's the future of aviation.

"That way you don't put anyone on the ground at risk, but you also don't put anyone in jeopardy," he said.

An Xwing self-flying plane demonstration flight.

The builder has already cracked the code on self-flying aircraft, so a single-pilot operation might seem like a step back.

A test aircraft takes off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport.

The A350 is being considered for single-pilot use and is being taught how to taxi, takeoff, and land without the pilot's input.

A test aircraft takes off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport.

The self-flying plane just completed successful taxi, take-off, and landing tests, opening the door for fully autonomously flight.

The technology is intended to ease pilot workload and could pave the way for single-pilot flying and eventually no-pilot flying.

An A350 XWB aircraft.

Commercial airliners could be the next step if single-pilot cargo jets are a success. Single-pilot flying on long-haul flights is being worked on by the airlines.

A plane is about to land at the airport in Singapore.

The airlines involved in "Project Connect" are Cathay Pacific Airways and Lufthansa. The timelines for implementation are not clear.

The A350-900 XWB aircraft is owned by the Lufthansa.

The source is the news agency.

Cockpit technology is already evolving to accommodate fewer pilots in the cockpit on larger and larger aircraft, which is why Airbus is leading the way with a single-pilot future.

The new Falcon 10X is a private jet.

The Anthem cockpit was launched in October and features voice control, search functions, and highly intuitive systems that make it easier to fly.

The Anthem cockpit is owned byHoneywell Aerospace.

They are going to airplane cockpits. Engineers are working to take voice tech from sci-fi to reality.

Single-pilot operations during cruise flight will soon be allowed, as the new Falcon 10X is being developed by French business aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

The new Falcon 10X is a private jet.

The largest private jet can fly up to 7,500 nautical miles and has fighter-jet tech. The $75 million Falcon 10X is a plane.

The aircraft is due to fly for many years and may change, according to Philippe Duchateau, the chief test pilot. The level of automation will allow us to have one pilot flying the plane while the other is in the cockpit.

The new Falcon 10X is a private jet.

The next step up from single-pilot operations is called autonomously operations.

The A350 XWB is an aircraft.

"As you automate more and more, there's less of the manual stuff for the pilot to do," Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager, urban air mobility and Unmanned aerial systems, told Insider in April. "You do more and more of that, and you step down the road towards independence."

The Anthem cockpit is owned byHoneywell Aerospace.

There is a shortage of pilots that plagues the aviation industry.

The pilots are talking in front of the plane.

Airlines may have found themselves with too many pilots during the Pandemic but they will not have enough in the long term.

An aircraft cockpit.

The high cost of training combined with the stringent qualifications imposed by regulators have made it more difficult for airlines to recruit.

Airline pilots.Spencer Platt

The cost of training for pilots is still set by airlines, even though they have adopted a training academy.

A plane is a training aircraft.

United, Delta, and American Airlines need pilots so much that they're making it easier for rookies to land top flying jobs.

Reducing the number of pilots required on a flight would help alleviate the issue as long-haul flights often call for two sets of crew. An autonomously flown flight may not require any pilots at all.

An Xwing self-flying plane demonstration flight.

Before any pilots are taken off an airplane, airlines and aircraft manufacturers will have to get approval from their respective regulators and their insurance companies.

An A350 XWB aircraft.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, told Insider that the decision on whether or not there will be a pilot on these planes may be made in the executive suite of an insurance company.

A general view shows the cockpit of an A350 under construction at the final assembly line.

Business Insider has an original article.