A century after its glamorous interwar heyday, the airship looks set to make a comeback in hybrid forms, says Greg Dickinson in The Daily Telegraph, offering a more sustainable – and more relaxing – alternative to plane travel for short-haul flights. At the forefront of the new wave is a British company, Hybrid Air Vehicles, ten of whose 300ft-long Airlander passenger craft are due to take to the skies in 2026, for an inter-city service in Spain. The Airlander first made headlines in 2016, when a prototype (widely labelled the “flying bum” for its shape) “nosedived in slow motion” during a test flight in Bedfordshire. The event provoked comparisons with the Hindenburg disaster of 1937 (which ended the previous era of airship travel), but the company says that it has now improved the design, enhancing safety features, and streamlined its derrière-like profile. Notably, the Hindenburg used inflammable hydrogen gas, while the Airlander uses non-flammable helium.
Using “a combination of aerodynamic lift (its shape), buoyant lift (helium) and vectoring engine power for take-off and landing”, the Airlander emits between 75% and 90% less CO2 per passenger than a plane. Its makers say it will offer comparable journey times to conventional aircraft, though its max speed is 100mph, partly because it will require fewer security procedures and has no need of an airport; it can land anywhere, even on water. And it could be far more comfortable than a plane flight. The prototype passenger cabin (which can accommodate 100 people) feels like a “compact hotel”, with mood lighting, bar stools, windows you can open, and even a few en-suite bedrooms.