Just out of curiosity, how fuel efficent would a helium-lift "zeppelin" type flying vehicle be? I'm sure it would be slower, but that might become an acceptable trade-off.

it would likely be more fuel efficient but way slower.the air drag of such a large vehicle would limit it's top speed drastically.probably under 200 miles a hour,maybe only 100 .how fast does the goodyear blimp go?i don't think travelers would be willing to fly 24 hours from Ny to La.

Certainly we have become dependent upon speed. I have to tell you, though, as an occasional "economy class" long distance flyer, I'm not certain I wouldn't happily exchange 5 or 6 hours of torture for 24 hours of comfort, not to mention a certain amelioration of the "jet lag" syndrome. Also, even if such slower travel was problematic for passenger flight, I would think significant cost savings might make cargo shipment by this means appealing.

Zeppelins fly about 30 MPH, so your trip from LA to NY would take 100 hours. That's almost 4 days. Good luck selling that to anyone.

The Hindenberg represented the highest level of technology ever actually used in zeppelin passenger service -- its sister, the Graf Spee II, never was put into service.

The Hindenberg had a top speed of about 80 mph in real cruise and could exceed that in short bursts. It's been 72 years since the Hindenberg exploded, probably because of sabotage, and we have much more advanced technology today. While there is probably no possibility of a 500 mph zeppelin that would rival jet aircraft, 150 or 200 mph zeppelins wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility.

The real issue with any such craft isn't its speed, but with the difficulties of ground-handling and porting a very large airship that is literally lighter than air.

Personally, I wish some enterprising company would develop a zeppelin for passenger service that would carry say, 200 people at 125 mph. Coast-to-coast travel times would be at least as good as train service, in a great deal more comfort than either trains or airlines currently offer.

Of course, I'd like to see the United States build bullet trains similar to France's, too, but it is unlikely to happen -- it would be too large a hit on existing interests including the airline and automotive industries.