That is a very abstracted view of it. In practice, everything from aluminum production that was ramped-up in WWII, to regional pork barrel, to national technol

That is a very abstracted view of it. In practice, everything from aluminum production that was ramped-up in WWII, to regional pork barrel, to national technology policy, to sovereign wealth fund politics, to issues of national prestige, all hide subsidization of air travel. It may be you are right about the efficiency of air travel, but there is potentially a gap between that and reality. Carbon neutral air travel is far in the future, and may not arrive in time to make a difference.