Finnair, the flag airline of Finland, has announced its vision of flying for 85 years in the future. Titled Departure 2093, the project comprises designs for five futuristic flying machines that are posh, emission-free and 100% recyclable.
Thing is, the designs are eerily reminiscent of the types of craft the futurists of the '50s promised us for 1993, especially the A1700-2400 Cruiser, a jet-powered VTOL that looks more like a flying saucer, and the yet-unnamed dual-nosecone service ship for an orbiting "space hotel."
Features and amenities for Finnair's fleet of the future include nanoceramic bodies; electricity-generating skins; luminescent crash-landing bags and emergency parachutes; virtual windows with changeable exterior views; intelligent seats that adjust to passengers' bodies, measure their vital signs and offer massages; restaurants with live shows; gymnasiums; and hologram theaters.
Of course, Finnair has also predicted, as optimists have for decades, an "aircraft for everyone," a personal flying machine that sports fully automatic controls and is covered in thin, elastic, full-spectrum solar cells. For this one, however, we need only wait till the 2020s.
Now, I'm not saying Finnair is being overly optimistic or anything, but me, I'm still waiting for my jetpack.