ABSTRACT
Predicting the future is a problematic activity and seldom successful. The future may become defined by presently unknown influencers. A longer-term prediction of how commercial aviation will develop in the coming decades is full with these potholes. And as aviation strongly reacts on the world economy and global politics, the future of aviation is unknown as the future of the world. The fundamental question for the future is to where this elasticity will go. At a certain low fare level, the other costs of travelling, like those of hotels and restaurants, become the limiting factor for further growth. For the longer future, surface transport may also appear for longer distances by means of the hyperloop. This chapter starts by observing already in the introduction that the development of aviation is foremost defined by technological development, ever increasing engine power against ever increasing fuel efficiency.
