May 2015

How will we travel in 10 or 20 years? With the rapid technological advances it’s extremely difficult to imagine the changes that await us. Without a doubt, one of the future means of transport may be air taxis. Even now private jets are entering the mainstream thanks to apps enabling travellers to book seats on aircraft that would otherwise fly half-full or even empty on return trips. Another trend is the continued development of luxury products.

Last year Etihad took it to the extreme with the unveiling of its Residence suite on the inaugural A380 service. A hotel-style room in the nose of the superjumbo, the Residence has its own set of doors, a living room with two couches and a 32-inch TV, a bathroom with a shower, and a bedroom with a double bed. You also get your own chef and a butler trained by the Savoy.

With more countries issuing biometric e-passports, and greater volumes of passengers flying, increasing numbers of airports will install automated immigration gates and use facial and gait recognition to monitor queues and flows throughout the terminals. Fingerprint and body scanning may also become more prevalent.

Automatic cars? This isn’t a science fiction idea anymore. In the US, self-driving vehicles are expected to be on the streets of 30 US cities by the end of next year. For more details, I recommend you to read our cover article. Enjoy your reading!

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