Flight engineers will be obsolete in Japanese carriers

Apparently JAL is the only airlines in Japan that still operates flights that require an onboard flight engineer. However, it is planning to retire its last 747 Classic as early as this summer, which means it no longer needs any flight engineer anymore.

For those who aren't familiar with flight engineer, it was first created to monitor the engines and other critical systems so the pilots can concentrate on flying the plane. With the advance in computer technology, flight engineers are no longer needed on the modern airplanes. I wonder would pilots be obsolete and the plane can actually flies itself one day too? Or will pilot's responsibility become as simple as pressing buttons? No matter what they do, I hope they don't obsolete the cabin attendants. They just simply can't be replaced by a robot LOL

Source: The Mainichi Daily News