also not surprising.

The airplanes lobby is huge

Grounding of Planes by Volcano Had "Very little" Economic Impact

Image: Creative Commons

Is All This Flying Worth It?
Quote of the Day: "Is your journey really necessary? The second-world-war slogan springs to mind in the wake of the volcanic cloud that has disrupted air travel this week. Although business people tend to think of their foreign trips as vital, the eruption is expected to have very little impact on the global economy."

Photo: Creative Commons

The above is by the Buttonwood columnist at The Economist. He goes on to add that while it is true that our world is very inter-connected, that most economically important trade is done with ships and not planes, and that even business men and women could actually benefit from fewer plane trips:

"As for business travel, most meetings could be held via telephone and videoconference. Executives might even increase their productivity if they spent fewer hours on board planes (or kicking their heels at airports)."

Some flying is necessary, and some is worth it for non-economic reasons. But this real-world test showed us that a lot of it probably could be avoided without much repercussions...

Via The Economist

See also: MIT-Designed Futuristic Airplanes Use 70% Less Fuel Than Current Models