The Future of Flight
Technology really amazes me. If you think back 50-60 years ago, things have advanced tremendously. While I’m still anxiously waiting for teleportation to exist, I’m a pretty big fan of where we are in 2012.
I stumbled upon two articles this week, which really got me thinking about the future of travel and flight. The first powered, controlled airplane flight took place in 1903 by the famous Wright Brothers (that’s 108 years ago if you’re doing the math). In the years since, we’ve seen planes increase the number of passengers, the Airbus A380 having the ability to hold anywhere from 500-800 passengers, depending on the layout inside this double-decker plane. That’s insane!
But then, I saw this – Airbus’ newest concept passenger aircraft, the 2050. If you’ve got a few minutes, I highly recommend checking out this video showing different parts of the concept:
The ideas behind this concept are so interesting and futuristic. I doubt we’ll see the day that kind of air transport in our life, but it would be cool if we did. I say this as if the thought of take-off and landing doesn’t throw me into a slight anxiety attack (for as many times as I’ve flown, you’d think I’d be over this by now). I’m not sure I could handle seeing the open skies while flying through the air, but it would be nice to see the stars without the city lights blocking them out at night.
In addition to this sleek Airbus 2050 concept, EADS has put out a concept for a “Rocketplane” that would hope to fly the distance from Paris to Tokyo in 2.5 hours (which currently takes 11 hours). Of course, this one only seats 50-100 passengers, so I’m guessing it’ll be a bit more exclusive (read: expensive).
Both concepts are hopeful for 2050 – 39 years from now. By that point, I’ll be 67, ready to retire, and ready to travel the world full time. 😉 Here’s to hoping these concepts come to life, so we can see more places and spend less time flying!
If you had the ability to give your input on planes of the future, what kinds of things would you like to see?
[#15 of #52]
From a cabin perspective: better seat width, bigger windows, lower cabin pressure, better humidity, more opportunities to use my own IFE device (ie iPhone).
From a flying perspective: improved ability to handle turbulence, faster speeds, improved ceiling and climb to altitude.
Good feedback! 🙂 I would definitely like to see planes that can handle turbulence better, it’s my least favorite thing about flying! Faster speeds would mean shorter trips, so that’d be nice too!
Seems odd that they don’t support eletrical outlets on planes yet. Delta can support TVs in the back of every seat, so seems like it’s not a power supply issue. I’d like being able to plug a laptop/phone/etc in while flying.
Also, along with the TVs, I don’t see why we couldn’t “order” drinks/food/etc through the personal TVs. No more need for a beverage cart to be rolled up and down the aisle.
And lastly, it seems like a different radio station or television personality is bringing it up every other week; why not create a “family” or “kid-friendly” section of the plane to host all children under the age of 5 in one section so that adults can do their best to distance themselves from them. This one isn’t so much technology driven as policy. No extra charge, just a designated section that is meant for families traveling with small children along with specialized attention from flight attendants in that section. Seems like a win win all around.
I agree with you on wishing I had the ability to plug laptops/phones in for charging purposes. I have seen outlets on some planes, but they were in first or business class, and I was not flying in either one of those.
It would also be cool if you could “order” items, but I think flight attendants would argue that it’s less efficient for them to go back and forth to deliver food and drinks, rather than doing it in one full swoop. On the plane that we’re flying to Sydney later this year, there’s a snack kiosk for snacks and drinks that’s included in the price of the ticket (of course alcoholic beverages will cost extra). I think that’s a great concept and I can’t wait to check it out.
As for family/kid-friendly sections of a plane, in theory it sounds good, but when it comes down to it, is it really practical? You might dedicate a section of the plane to families/kids, but what if it doesn’t fill up? Are you out the money on the seats because others might not want to sit there? If you have one screaming baby/kid in a section of other babies/kids, it isn’t before too long that they’re all screaming and crying (I swear, it’s like a domino effect sometimes!). I did see this morning that Malaysia Airlines is banning kids from first class. I don’t know too many people that fly with kids first class, but it’s an interesting policy to take up.