ABSTRACT
At the start of the twenty-fi rst century we were being constantly reminded of the amazing rates of progress in our world, from the consistently high economic growth rate in China to the technological revolution which has seen Bangalore named as India’s ‘silicon valley’. Meanwhile, Airbus launched its A380, which could transport larger numbers of people (up to 853 in an all-economy class confi guration) over long distances, and Richard Branson enthused that the world, and beyond, was our oyster as Virgin airways made plans to commercialise fl ights to the moon.
