The first air-taxis using the new Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) plan to remove one of the four passenger seats for more legroom but, with a labour shortage rippling through the aviation industry, it is those sitting up front who could have extra space.
The need for hundreds of pilots to fly the swarms of VLJs expected to take to the air is the latest addition to a long list of labour tensions facing the airline industry, intensifying competition between the commercial and corporate sectors for stretched resources.
