Senior Avionics & Safety Editor John Croft looks at the airliner flight deck of the future, which might feature one seat in the cockpit for a captain and one on the ground, occupied by a “super dispatcher” or first officer.

Transaero Airlines faces an uphill battle to survive as it grapples with myriad problems that encompass everything from political unrest, plunging oil prices and management missteps.

Finally back on strong financial footing, Air Canada plans to spend the next several years regaining the international share it lost in the past decade as it battled key labor unions, dealt with high airport costs and weathered delivery delays for important new aircraft.

NASA is moving quickly to develop a system to enable safe and efficient operation of civil unmanned aircraft systems at low altitudes outside controlled airspace.

Rather than trying to develop new systems, Boeing and Airbus are finding ways to combine existing capabilities to improve ATM operations.

In an effort to address potential pilot shortages in the future, NASA is conducting research on the operating concepts and ground stations that would be needed for single-pilot airliners.

With NASA’s help, air traffic controllers in the future will “team” with their computer systems to safely and efficiently manage highly automated passenger aircraft that dynamically collaborate with the ATM system to optimize routing, capacity and fuel savings.

Without integrity—people making and keeping promises—any initiative is bound to fail.