Sir - A petulant strike by pilots of the world's most successful airline would be a double betrayal of the piloting profession. Besides bringing it into disrepute, it could contribute to its ultimate extinction with the advent of the unmanned airliner.
The prestige and salaries enjoyed by British Airways flightcrews, flying fully automated aircraft with ultra-reliable engines in the serene weatherless stratosphere, are based on a job which no longer exists. They were earned by previous generations of pilots.
The job has changed. For a long time there have been good arguments for not having human crew - the first being that, nowadays, they are responsible for most accidents.
Industrial action is fatal to the standing of any profession, and for BA pilots to lead their profession towards extinction is disgraceful. They must know that the first fully automatic take-off-to-touchdown transatlantic flight was made by a Douglas Skymaster back in 1947.
They will be harshly judged by the first pilotless generation.
CHARLES MANNING
Exeter, Devon, UK
Source: Flight International
