Originally Posted by CallmeJB

I think that once the public accepts single-pilot ops, it will be very short term and then replaced by no-pilot ops.

Don't underestimate how much more profitable a no-pilot airplane is. Saving an extra pilot salary is one thing, but saving the weight of the cockpit seats, jumpseats, crew baggage, flight controls, CRT (or LCD) displays, ALL of the windows, crew doors, egress systems, galley (what little is already left of it), lavatory, waste tank, potable water system, and perhaps even pressurization is significant. That's at least 3000 pounds of weight savings, even after adding some cameras and whatever extra computers and datalink systems are necessary.

Not to mention that you can probably fit two extra pallets onboard.

I'm also making this stuff up, but it's not surprising that Fred Smith is the largest private investor in UAV technology.