Planes were capable of being flown autonomously in the 1980s. In particular, the Soviet's space shuttle, Buran, performed unmanned orbital maneuvers and landing during its 1988 test flight.
So, the technology to do these kinds of things has already been done before (though unfortunately neglected!). I think the main challenge is just convincing people that it's safe enough that they will be willing to buy tickets.
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Planes were capable of being flown autonomously in the 1980s. In particular, the Soviet's space shuttle, Buran, performed unmanned orbital maneuvers and landing during its 1988 test flight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29
So, the technology to do these kinds of things has already been done before (though unfortunately neglected!). I think the main challenge is just convincing people that it's safe enough that they will be willing to buy tickets.