Originally Posted by
Generic Pilot
No different than mil drones today, operating in combat zones or remote, desolate regions. It probably won't hurt anybody on the ground if it crashes, and if you don't crash too many of them it might be cheaper to crash a few than pay pilots.
But typically the real advantage of this kind of drone is to save the space, weight, and/or endurance of the pilot. The mil doesn't actually save any money on drone pilots, but they can provide persistent overhead coverage with fewer planes if the endurance is higher than a manned plane. So they save on fewer planes, not fewer pilots. But none of that applies to airlines.