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|| the dynamics of life | THE EVOLUTION OF TRANSPORTATION
the “bleed air” process, yet disturbingly, according to our
research, the Boeing 787 is the only plane currently in
the air that is “bleed free.” Humidity is a longstanding
issue that has been addressed, alleviating the discom-
fort caused by the very low levels of moisture in the air
at high altitudes. A welcome innovation is that the avia-
tion companies have stopped economizing on media
space. High-speed satellite Internet in flight has become
the norm just like online booking for a flight. If only a few
years ago the request to turn off cell phones on board
was universal, now airlines have suddenly sensed the
whole spectrum of advantages in letting passengers
turn on their gadgets. Why install a cumbersome, power-
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hungry video transmission system if everybody now flies
with a phone, tablet, or laptop? They simply give pas-
sengers access to their on-board local area network
(LAN), and passengers can not only choose from a cur-
rent film collection, but also order food and make duty-
free purchases. The airlines’ plans are aimed at
improvements for today as well as for the future.
For example, Airbus engineers are proposing the
concept of the “bionic” airliner. The cabin will be cloaked
with a smart membrane that can present passengers
with a fabulous view. A computer network integrated into
the plane will determine passengers’ needs and react
to them automatically, activating a wide range of func-