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Reinventing the Airline Industry

judegomila.com

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Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#41

Post by TheAnimus »

I'm not sure he takes in to account the best thing about SLF (Self Loading Freight), which is the fact they are self loading. This leads to a great cost reduction in many cases, but as always, its a few arseholes that go and ruin it for the majority.

However, as has been suggested before, we could load the plane in a more efficent manner: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20859-test-shows-most-...

The other thing is he failed to take in to account SLFs are a bunch of whinging little things, most mil transports use backwards facing seating, as its much safer in certain disaster scenarios. Apparently, the airlines say, SLF don't like it.

I wonder how many more would hate been in a box, shifted sideways, up and down etc. Planes have a nice tendancy to only ever glide, in fact most airlines have strick limits on the number of degrees of pitch/bank that a pilot can use under normal circumstances.

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#42

Post by seanmcdirmid »

michael_miller wrote: post #29

The best way to reinvent the airline industry is to fly private. Think about how terrible a bus is, and how most of us use cars because it's an immensely better experience. Going from commercial -> private is a similarly massive leap (I've never flown on a chartered private flight, but I am training for my pilot's license). You go to the FBO (the equivalent of the commercial terminal, but on the other side of the air…

Three things:

(1) Private cars will go away eventually even in the states as we transition to self-driving cars (at least in the cities) that will be used more like taxis to avoid parking problems.

(2) We probably aren't that far away from self-driving planes, heck, we already have drones. One could imagine a fleet of small planes that are also used like taxis (or better yet, for ride shares).

(3) Its almost 2015 and we all saw Back to the Future, so we know what's going to happen (VTOL garbage powered Delorean anyone?). (this point is a joke, the first two are more serious)

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#43

Post by flyinRyan »

michael_miller wrote: post #29

The best way to reinvent the airline industry is to fly private. Think about how terrible a bus is, and how most of us use cars because it's an immensely better experience. Going from commercial -> private is a similarly massive leap (I've never flown on a chartered private flight, but I am training for my pilot's license). You go to the FBO (the equivalent of the commercial terminal, but on the other side of the air…

I wish there was some way for someone to make a kind of "cost sharing" business based on this model. I.e. I pay a bit more than a normal ticket but not hundreds of times more and TFA and all that other crap just goes away for me.

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#44

Post by da3da »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #42
michael_miller wrote: post #29

The best way to reinvent the airline industry is to fly private. Think about how terrible a bus is, and how most of us use cars because it's an immensely better experience. Going from commercial -> private is a similarly massive leap (I've never flown on a chartered private flight, but I am training for my pilot's license). You go to the FBO (the equivalent of the commercial terminal, but on the other side of the air…

Three things: (1) Private cars will go away eventually even in the states as we transition to self-driving cars (at least in the cities) that will be used more like taxis to avoid parking problems. (2) We probably aren't that far away from self-driving planes, heck, we already have drones. One could imagine a fleet of small planes that are also used like taxis (or better yet, for ride shares). (3) Its almost 2015 and…

I've heard that almost the entire flight can be/is automated now, including the landing and that most commercial pilots have to land the planes by hand just so they can keep their skills up. But I doubt the salary of pilots is really such a significant cost for airlines compared to their other expenses, otherwise we'd probably be seeing a push for autonomous aircraft.

Also: think of how much the TSA would love autonomous aircraft, you never need to worry about them being hijacked because they'll only go where the computer tells them too.

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#45

Post by culturestate »

zurn wrote: post #35

It would be very unwise to make flying more attractive as long as the planes are injecting fossil CO2 straight into the upper atmosphere. This makes the emissions 2-4x more potent greenhouse gases than CO2 emitted from the ground. We should be in a hurry to implement disincentives for air travel.

Disincentivizing air travel? Do we have a viable alternative to get me from New York to London in less than 5 days?

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#46

Post by seanmcdirmid »

da3da wrote: post #44
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Three things: (1) Private cars will go away eventually even in the states as we transition to self-driving cars (at least in the cities) that will be used more like taxis to avoid parking problems. (2) We probably aren't that far away from self-driving planes, heck, we already have drones. One could imagine a fleet of small planes that are also used like taxis (or better yet, for ride shares). (3) Its almost 2015 and…

I've heard that almost the entire flight can be/is automated now, including the landing and that most commercial pilots have to land the planes by hand just so they can keep their skills up. But I doubt the salary of pilots is really such a significant cost for airlines compared to their other expenses, otherwise we'd probably be seeing a push for autonomous aircraft. Also: think of how much the TSA would love autono…

Salaries are not significant for bus drivers, but would be significant for taxi cab drivers. Automated small planes could really revolutionize the sector, especially if we could figure out how to make them fuel efficient and even electric.

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#47

Post by tass »

Fundlab wrote: post #36
tass wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding containerizing passenger space: Rather than having it as a container, what about an open space that is inserted rather than becoming part of the external structure? So, seating would be arranged on a completely open, flat structure; a long version of this: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00PeRaHYmFgBgL/Retractabl... Then, this is inserted into an aeroplane, in a manner similar to what you see here: http:…

Is that an antonov?

Looks like it. Antonov An-124.

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#48

Post by larrydag »

tass wrote: post #16
admford wrote: post #5

Interesting article, but there are some flaws in the author's reasoning. 1. Containerizing passenger space. Not a good idea, it would require a massive re-engineering effort in the structure of the cabin, since a whole tube is a much more reliable pressure vessel rather than half of one with a 90 degree angle where the floor meets the wall. You generate a ton of stress at those joints with pressurization cycles. Hard…

Regarding containerizing passenger space: Rather than having it as a container, what about an open space that is inserted rather than becoming part of the external structure? So, seating would be arranged on a completely open, flat structure; a long version of this: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00PeRaHYmFgBgL/Retractabl... Then, this is inserted into an aeroplane, in a manner similar to what you see here: http:…

I was thinking the exact same thing. I was envisioning a "pod" system that you could have about 10 rows which could hold about 40 to 80 passengers each. Each pod would be a cylinder that could be delivered to the aircraft on the tarmac upon boarding. On disembarking they would be delivered to the jet bridge in a sort of star arrangement where you could have 3 to 4 pods attached at any given time.

This system would be interesting because you have effectively detached the aircraft from the passengers. The airline need only deliver pods to airport destinations. This would create an entirely new supply chain and offers more flexibility in scheduling. Plus the added bonus of decreased boarding and disembarking because all the aircraft needs to do is load pods.

I think there is a lot of merit to the containerization approach.

BUMP: Found this link on the subject http://innopedia.wikidot.com/multi-modal-passenger-container...

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#49

Post by alenart »

Disrupting the airline industry takes a lot of cash. It's going to take more than some pie-in-the-sky cabin concept.

Let's get realistic about what the industry really needs in order to make flying an enjoyable experience. It's no coincidence that the new American Airlines logo looks like Greyhound's. =p

Re: Reinventing the Airline Industry

#50

Post by zurn »

culturestate wrote: post #45
zurn wrote: post #35

It would be very unwise to make flying more attractive as long as the planes are injecting fossil CO2 straight into the upper atmosphere. This makes the emissions 2-4x more potent greenhouse gases than CO2 emitted from the ground. We should be in a hurry to implement disincentives for air travel.

Disincentivizing air travel? Do we have a viable alternative to get me from New York to London in less than 5 days?

There are more important things in the world than keeping your current ticket price when flying from New York to London.
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