[Bellissima]

with fuel prices etc. rising, do you think in a few decades air travel and easy travel will only be for the rich again, if we don't find a suitable alternative for petrol?

it's a worry i have..... i want to be able to travel everywhere!

[Pop_tart]

(Original post by Bellissima)
with fuel prices etc. rising, do you think in a few decades air travel and easy travel will only be for the rich again, if we don't find a suitable alternative for petrol?

it's a worry i have..... i want to be able to travel everywhere!

no.. IF fuel prices get so high that people can't drive anymore, everyone will be forced to use public transport. When so many more people use the services, the prices of public transport will go down eventually.

air travel is a different matter I think.

[Miracle Day]

I intend to be a Hollywood star, so it doesn't bother me

[Bellissima]

(Original post by Pop_tart)
no.. IF fuel prices get so high that people can't drive anymore, everyone will be forced to use public transport. When so many more people use the services, the prices of public transport will go down eventually.

air travel is a different matter I think.

i'm talking about foreign travel, transatlantic/air travel...

[lukas1051]

I don't know. I'm sure there is the technology to develop electric or alternative fuel aircraft, but the cost and difficulty of this might make it impractical. I personally believe that in our lifetimes, whilst we're young at least, it won't be an issue, fuel prices might rise but I don't think they'll rise to unaffordable levels for maybe 40 years, especially if we utilise it efficiently. It is a genuine worry though, and one that will affect air travel more heavily than other modes of transport.

[dgeorge]

(Original post by Bellissima)
with fuel prices etc. rising, do you think in a few decades air travel and easy travel will only be for the rich again, if we don't find a suitable alternative for petrol?

it's a worry i have..... i want to be able to travel everywhere!

Fuel prices have drastically risen, but salaries have risen as well. In fact, the amount of people travelling in the previous decade (00's) is significantly higher than any other decade.

There will be a slowdown in the growth of long distance travel, but there will still be growth

[sexbo]

A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).
This sounds like a tremendously poor miles-per-gallon rating! But consider that a 747 can carry as many as 568 people. Let's call it 500 people to take into account the fact that not all seats on most flights are occupied. A 747 is transporting 500 people 1 mile using 5 gallons of fuel. That means the plane is burning 0.01 gallons per person per mile. In other words, the plane is getting 100 miles per gallon per person! The typical car gets about 25 miles per gallon, so the 747 is much better than a car carrying one person, and compares favorably even if there are four people in the car. Not bad when you consider that the 747 is flying at 550 miles per hour (900 km/h)!

So Ironically public transport by air may become the only way to travel in future. I say that cars may only be for the rich in future.

Don't worry Bellisma. This will never happen in your lifetime. The worst that is gonna happen is that airliners get more jewish with the luggage allowance.

[izzaha]

Air travel could go back to being for the rich if planes continue to run on non renewable fuels, however if hydrogen fuel cells or other "green" fuels come around it should be fine.

[DJkG.1]

(Original post by Miracle Day)
I intend to be a Hollywood star, so it doesn't bother me

Same here, but Bollywood.

[walterwhite123]

No, certainly not in our lifetime anyway.