Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5.
One of the most ambitious plans to offer regular people (rich regular people) the journey of their
lives in space is the Martian Settlement. Japanese construction giant Obayashi Corporation has
spent the last 10 years researching ways of building a Martian colony. It has gone so far as to
develop estimations that that in 2057 there will be 500 people living on Mars. For a better picture
of what is planned, Obayashi research data estimate that the Martian economy will make up
5 percent of the solar system's GDP by 2090, when there will be some 50,000 inhabitants.
6.
If built, the Aeroscraft
may indeed be the
flying luxury hotel of the
future. A spacious luxury
flying hotel, packed in a two-football-
elds-big balloon that hangs in
the air, thanks to 14 million cubic feet of helium, it
—
a gigantic 400-ton blimp
—
However, the fact that
250 passengers can enjoy a ride at 174 mph at 8,000 feet above ground while losing money in a
casino, eating
fine dishes in a restaurant, or just enjoying a great vacation, is quite remarkable.
'
s not really in
''
space.
''
The Transformation of the Airline Industry
and the Modern Airliner
Underlying the transformation of the modern airliner is the ongoing competition between Boeing and
Airbus, a result of the two companies
domination of the large jet airline market. In the decade
between 2000 and 2009 Airbus received 6,452 orders, while Boeing received 5,927.
12
Airbus had
higher deliveries between 2003 and 2009, but fell slightly short of Boeing
'
'
s deliveries, delivering 3,810
aircraft compared to Boeing
s 3,950. As the foregoing
figures demonstrate, Airbus has recently edged
out Boeing as the top commercial jet maker. The two companies are in a
fierce battle for supremacy.
As for the future, Airbus has chosen the path of building the world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, a
double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airline, the largest passenger airliner in the world. The A380
made its maiden
flight on April 27, 2005, from Toulouse, France, and made its
first commercial
flight
on October 25, 2007, from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.
Boeing, in contrast, believes the future will see a need for smaller aircraft with a longer range. Its
787 Dreamliner, said to be the super-ef
cient plane of tomorrow, will have con
gurations
flying
between 3,500 and 8,500 nautical miles and with passenger capacities of 210 to 330. U.S. tour
operator Thomson says that the range the 787 Dreamliner can achieve will
'
''
change the face of long-
haul travel
in the future, enabling holidays to be offered in far-reaching destinations without the need
to land and refuel. Thomson predicts that Borneo, Bali, Hawaii, and Mauritius are all future package
holiday destinations from the United Kingdom with the 787.
The
rst 787was unveiled in a roll-out ceremony on July 8, 2007, at Boeing
''
s Everett assembly factory,
bywhichtime ithadbecomethe fastest-sellingwide-bodyairliner inhistory,with677orders. BySeptember
2010, 847Boeing787s hadbeenorderedby56customers. As of 2010, launchcustomer AllNipponAirways
has the largest number of 787s on order. The 787 is expected to enter commercial service in 2011.
In addition to the efforts of Airbus and Boeing, the United States National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), which is basically a research organization, has created the Fundamental
Aeronautics program to conduct cutting-edge research in the aviation
field over the long term. Within
the Fundamental Aeronautics program there are four subcategories of aircraft. The subsonic
xed-
wing project conducts research on new designs for airplanes and their engines. Second, the subsonic
rotary wing project aims to improve helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft, so that they can
y
faster, further, quieter, and cheaper. Third, the supersonic project intends to create practical supersonic
commercial airliners. Fourth, the hypersonic project seeks to design a vehicle that can
fly from the
surface of the earth directly into space, reaching many times the speed of sound. In addition, these
hypersonic vehicles will eventually (in 30 to 50 years) achieve very-long-distance point-to-point travel
in low-earth orbit, thus enabling about a three-hour trip from New York to Sydney, Australia. Such
aircraft could also conceivably
y to Mars.
13
Although all of the above are occurring in the realm of product development, the future of air travel
is also likely to see a continuation of the growth of low-cost, reduced-service air carriers. Airlines such
'
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