Though no one can deny how vital air travel is today, no one can say it is fun. The inevitable delays, the long waits in airports, the lugging all you luggage around, the lack of leg room, and the jet lagged feeling afterward, all contribute to a distinct lack of fun. And even if it all goes well, the most you can say about it is that it wasn't terrible.
If we take into consideration the global impact as well, the cost to the environment is too high. In times like these we often look to the future to comfort ourselves with the fact that things can only get better, both in terms of social policy and technological advancements. Southwest Airlines, however, has recently made an announcement that will only spread doubt about such optimism.
The airline has announced that, in order to save money, and to make their company greener, they will be refitting all of their planes with more seats. The upshot of this is at least an inch less leg room for passengers, and an inch less in the recline of each seat. They claim that new ergonomic designs of the seats will make the journey more comfortable, but many are sceptical of this claim.
There is some good news, though. The Finnish air company Finnair recently celebrated their 85th anniversary, and in honour of it they invited a bunch of academics and other professionals to give their informed opinions about what flying will be like in the future. The image they conjured was inspiring. They saw beautiful, sleek designs of algae-run crafts venturing outside the Earth's atmosphere, using the planet's turning to reduce travel times.
As science fiction as this sounds, there are certainly pressures acting on the air flight industry that will see drastic technological changes in the future. There is pressure to make sustainable, green technology, and there is, of course, the economic demand for short, comfortable flights.
If we take into consideration the global impact as well, the cost to the environment is too high. In times like these we often look to the future to comfort ourselves with the fact that things can only get better, both in terms of social policy and technological advancements. Southwest Airlines, however, has recently made an announcement that will only spread doubt about such optimism.
The airline has announced that, in order to save money, and to make their company greener, they will be refitting all of their planes with more seats. The upshot of this is at least an inch less leg room for passengers, and an inch less in the recline of each seat. They claim that new ergonomic designs of the seats will make the journey more comfortable, but many are sceptical of this claim.
There is some good news, though. The Finnish air company Finnair recently celebrated their 85th anniversary, and in honour of it they invited a bunch of academics and other professionals to give their informed opinions about what flying will be like in the future. The image they conjured was inspiring. They saw beautiful, sleek designs of algae-run crafts venturing outside the Earth's atmosphere, using the planet's turning to reduce travel times.
As science fiction as this sounds, there are certainly pressures acting on the air flight industry that will see drastic technological changes in the future. There is pressure to make sustainable, green technology, and there is, of course, the economic demand for short, comfortable flights.
0 nhận xét:
Post a Comment