Transport of delight

GF tastes airship technology at first hand over London

Cruising the skies above London, one of the world’s largest airships has been offering summer sightseeing tours, sky-high advertising – and the opportunity to discover what airship travel is really like. A cleaner, more civilised flying experience than frenetic jet travel? Green Futures went on one of the first flights from an East London airfield to find out.

The Zeppelin NT (for New Technology – made with carbon fibre and filled with inert helium) certainly offers a memorable experience. Filling the sky as it descends to pick up passengers, it seems more spaceship than aircraft. When it lifts straight up to head over London at about 70kph, the views are breathtaking: where else can you sit in a two metre wide bay window in mid air?

What about the carbon emissions, journey times and other practicalities? The Zeppelin NT uses 45kg of fuel per hour and carries 12 people, so we estimate it emits about 140g of CO2 per passenger km. That’s similar to a jet aircraft – but, travelling at low altitude, it doesn’t cause the stratospheric emissions which may double the climate impact of jets. And airships thrive on size, which is why those of the past were three times the length of the latest incarnation. Some estimates suggest that larger modern airships might have a climate impact 80-90% less than jet aircraft, with fuel economy to match.

As for speed, 70kph is a crawl, even if you do go in a straight line. But 250kph, a feasible prospect, would get you from London to New York within 24 hours. That might seem slow compared to a 747, but a big airship which offered a cabin and ocean liner amenities would let you enjoy the ride, sleep soundly and arrive refreshed – rather than ready only to slump straight into bed.

Size may also help address another major challenge for airships: all-weather reliability. The Zeppelin NT has a noticeable roll and pitch in the air currents, and our flight was delayed for a week by bad weather. That won’t win any customers, so future craft will need the construction and controls to stay steady and safe in wind and rain. But with expensive oil grounding jets the world over, the investment could pay off.

John Christopher, co-founder of Zeppelin Tours, the company behind the initiative, says that plans for the future include a regular cruise from London to Paris and Brussels carrying up to 40 passengers. – Rupert Fausset

18 August 2008