• merc@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago

    Airships are impractical, but I’d still like to fly in one.

    Probably part of the reason they seem so luxurious is that they stopped flying them at the peak of their luxury. Meanwhile, planes started fairly luxurious but they’ve become more and more unpleasant for the passengers as time went on.

    Still, even a business jet seems cramped and loud compared to what people had on ships like the Hindenburg. The amount of space inside makes it seem a lot more like a cruise ship than a plane.

    Airship interior drawing

    Hindenburg lounge photo

    If we have to have billionaires, couldn’t we at least get one eccentric one who has a cool personal airship instead of the penis rockets?

    • GenosseFlosse@feddit.org
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      7 days ago

      They could not compete with planes on price. If it takes a week for maybe 50 passengers to travel between continents, the passenger tickets would have to cover all operating expenses for the airship during that time.

      A jet plane could do 10x as many trips and carry around 300 passengers each time

      I think I read that a zeppelin ticket cost as much as the yearly salary for a teacher back in the day.

        • GenosseFlosse@feddit.org
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          6 days ago

          What do you mean? Trains did not travel between Europe and America. They have lower operating costs, more capacity and a lot more domestic passengers? They are also not limited by cargo weight.