With the disappearance of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the concern over the capability of commercial airplanes becomes more pertinent. 2014 has seen its share of tragedy in the skies, including another Asian flight, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Although, 2014 has reported a significant decrease in the number of crashes than previous years, the fatalities paint a different story with 1,158 deaths. But with vast accelerations in other modes of transportation, such as sensor-detecting motor vehicles, these incidences cannot be merely portrayed as coincidences. How is it that a commercial flight can still go missing within a decade of Google Glasses, retina displays, and numerous hacking ventures? Despite the seemingly inundated progressions, there is a revolutionary movement in aviation that has and is continuing to brew.
This year, commercial airlines catered to 3.2 billion passengers. With a vast portion of the world relying on flights as a method of transportation, the consideration of service and safety are significant factors to the future of flying. Flights are monitored by two radar methods. The primary method, which was developed in the 1930s and utilizes radio signals, and the secondary method that requires additional information directly from the plane. Some have argued that this method may be outdated and since the Air France crash of 2009, there has been a steadfast direction towards equipping planes with black boxes that hold GPS technology. Whilst this method may seem effective in theory, unless this information is streamed to air traffic control, its range and durability consequently makes the box difficult to locate after a crash.
But the streaming of this influx of information is not cost-effective. Prices of flights are on an increase, as domestic supply of seats decrease. Despite the decline of jet fuel, it seems that airlines, such as Delta are benefitting from the cause by becoming more restrictive with its budget. Furthermore, some airlines, such as Air Canada, are adding on additional payments for baggage and overhead storage.
Yet, the future of flight still remains bright with various innovations in various designs. Airbus‘ design goal for 2050 was released with the statement, “More flights, fewer emissions and quicker passenger journey times.” It is with this mindset that we look up to the future of the skies. There is an idea, a need for change; all it needs to do is take flight.