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Correct, especially with the added time of getting to, from and through the airports. Some materials about a short-lived Hindenburg airship (http://www.retrona

Correct, especially with the added time of getting to, from and through the airports. Some materials about a short-lived Hindenburg airship (http://www.retronaut.com/2011/04/inside-the-hindenburg-in-colour/ http://www.retronaut.com/2011/04/inside-the-hindenburg-in-co...) mention its travel time between Europe and North America to be 40+ hours. I wonder, if they were available today, would there be a demand for this type of travel? For me the choice between a seat in 8 hour flight or a comfortable cabin in 40 hour is often not in favour of speed.

christoph 12y ago
There have been murmurs of this possibly having a renaissance. [1] I read an article in a magazine sometime back as well, talking about the possibility of luxury flights like London -> New York, but boarding in a nice piece of park land instead of an airport. The flight would be much longer, but there would be essentially no jet lag, much nicer quarters to sleep in, five star restaurant food, etc. It certainly seemed to me there is potentially a niche market there somewhere. EDIT - all I can find is a DailyMail(!) article - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1357747/Airships-Pioneering-Brits-heralding-dawn-new-Zeppelin-age.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1357747/Airs... EDIT 2 - seems to be this company - http://www.hybridairship.net http://www.hybridairship.net 1 - http://m.ibtimes.com/zeppelins-making-comeback-aeroscraft-airship-future-air-transportation-says-california-company http://m.ibtimes.com/zeppelins-making-comeback-aeroscraft-ai...
- mariuolo 12y ago
  > boarding in a nice piece of park land instead of an airport. I don't see this happening in the current climate of hysteria.
ghaff 12y ago
You can get a very comfortable "nook" for an eight hour flight across the Atlantic by flying First where available. And frankly, for that sort of time window, recline-flat business is is perfectly fine. I can't imagine anyone other than a Zeppelin buff wanting to spend 2 days to make the same trip. There's a market. As with long distance train travel and (basically the one) ocean liner. But it's minimal.
doctorfoo 12y ago
I really hope so. I'm someone who is scared of flying, but would happily go on board an airship for some reason.
dalke 12y ago
A one-way Hindenburg ticket cost something like $450 in the 1930s, which is over $7000 now. Checking now, round-trip FRA - JFK on Lufthansa, "First Flex", is $4,500. If you have the time, freighter travel is a possibility. http://cargoshipvoyages.com/VoyageDetails/?SCID=54&VID=143&SGID=280 http://cargoshipvoyages.com/VoyageDetails/?SCID=54&VID=143&S... shows a Europe/US route at $2,300, for 2 weeks at sea. Airship travel is left with a limited market. It's not fast. It's not cheap.

christoph 12y ago

There have been murmurs of this possibly having a renaissance. [1] I read an article in a magazine sometime back as well, talking about the possibility of luxury flights like London -> New York, but boarding in a nice piece of park land instead of an airport. The flight would be much longer, but there would be essentially no jet lag, much nicer quarters to sleep in, five star restaurant food, etc. It certainly seemed to me there is potentially a niche market there somewhere. EDIT - all I can find is a DailyMail(!) article - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1357747/Airships-Pioneering-Brits-heralding-dawn-new-Zeppelin-age.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1357747/Airs... EDIT 2 - seems to be this company - http://www.hybridairship.net http://www.hybridairship.net 1 - http://m.ibtimes.com/zeppelins-making-comeback-aeroscraft-airship-future-air-transportation-says-california-company http://m.ibtimes.com/zeppelins-making-comeback-aeroscraft-ai...

mariuolo 12y ago
> boarding in a nice piece of park land instead of an airport. I don't see this happening in the current climate of hysteria.

ghaff 12y ago

You can get a very comfortable "nook" for an eight hour flight across the Atlantic by flying First where available. And frankly, for that sort of time window, recline-flat business is is perfectly fine. I can't imagine anyone other than a Zeppelin buff wanting to spend 2 days to make the same trip. There's a market. As with long distance train travel and (basically the one) ocean liner. But it's minimal.

doctorfoo 12y ago

I really hope so. I'm someone who is scared of flying, but would happily go on board an airship for some reason.

dalke 12y ago

A one-way Hindenburg ticket cost something like $450 in the 1930s, which is over $7000 now. Checking now, round-trip FRA - JFK on Lufthansa, "First Flex", is $4,500. If you have the time, freighter travel is a possibility. http://cargoshipvoyages.com/VoyageDetails/?SCID=54&VID=143&SGID=280 http://cargoshipvoyages.com/VoyageDetails/?SCID=54&VID=143&S... shows a Europe/US route at $2,300, for 2 weeks at sea. Airship travel is left with a limited market. It's not fast. It's not cheap.