The aviation industry consensus forecast released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that by 2014 there will be 3.3 billion air travelers, up by 800 million from the 2.5 billion in 2009. 45% of them on Asia Pacific routes,

IATA says: “Despite some regional differences (China / India grow faster than elsewhere), the forecast indicates that the world will continue to become more mobile. This creates enormous opportunities but also presents some challenges. In five years we need to be able to handle 800 million more passengers".

Think of what this means for your airline, security, ground and baggage handling, border control, airport infrastructure, air traffic control, parking capacity, public transport capacity and impact on other involved parties.

Link to the original article at the IATA website.

New aviation concepts do not pop up every day, and most are not well thought through. Like this one. The product design company Seymourpowell has designed a zeppelin concept for the rich. Suitable for cross-continent travel, so they say, it will be a luxurious ride. The design is focussed to "no stress".

Cruising at 10,000 feet, the travel between LHR and JFK will take about 37 hours is the claim (I think it is dependent on the directions of the wind). Next to that, many restrictions are present to "fly" over the Atlantic Ocean. On top of that, most zeppelins are not really weather-resistant, meaning they can often not take off due to wind or other weather.

Nice design-concept, but is a zeppelin like ship the most optimal? Beautiful renderings though.