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The end of air travel as we know it

By Adaora Udoji, Christina M. Russo

Friday, August 22 2008

Soaring oil prices, coupled with climate change, is making commercial aviation not only unpopular but maybe impossible. Is the mile-high club about to end for good?

Guest: Bradford Plumer, Assistant Editor of The New Republic and author of the new piece, “The End of Aviation: What will happen when America can’t afford to fly.”
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I fly a few times a year, and this past year I have been delayed so long I could have gotten to my destination by car faster than I arrived by plane. After the last trip that included an overnight in Atlanta, I have decided that I will be making more road trips unless there is an ocean involved.

Posted by Jackie, 6:26 a.m. Friday, August 22 2008 Permalink

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Your guest pointed out that, while fuel-efficient and clean automobile technologies are well on their way towards the market, there are no promising such technologies for the airline industry. One such technology that nobody seems to have mentioned is "lighter-than-air", i.e. dirigibles, a technology that's been around for a hundred years and is considerably cleaner and more fuel-efficient than getting lift from an airfoil. Its main disadvantage is travel speed.

Posted by Stephen, 6:33 a.m. Friday, August 22 2008 Permalink

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I will be traveling to Egypt next week for vacation but do not expect to travel domestically by air for some time. I plan to restrict my air travel to international airlines only because the American airlines are completely broken. Despite inconvenience to the customer of cancelled flights, consistent delays, baggage fees and fuel fees, customer service has reached new lows. The one bright spot for domestic air travel is the addition of Virgin America.

Posted by Beth, 10:39 a.m. Friday, August 22 2008 Permalink

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And one more thing.... With air travel in such a shambles maybe this country will finally invest in the infrastructure necessary to support high speed rail. It's an embarassment that so many countries around the world are so much more advanced in this area of transport than the US.

Posted by Beth, 11:49 a.m. Friday, August 22 2008 Permalink

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