BLURRING DISTINCTION BETWEEN NARROW-BODY AND WIDE-BODY AIRLINERS

The major benefit which will emerge is that terribly busy hubs will de-congest with the number of transiting passengers reducing drastically as the layovers at the hubs will be done away with

- AJIT AGTEY

WE ARE LIVING IN very interesting times and are in a position to see and experience major changes happening in the world of aviation. The changes are essentially improvements, which happened incrementally, but if you see a decade or a quarter of a century, the changes are huge. Aviation, both, the civil and military arena has undergone a sea change in the last half a century. The shape, size and capability in terms of altitude, speed and weight of airplanes has reached unbelievable proportions.

These developments have happened primarily because the sheer number of people travelling has exploded. Due to increase in demand, technology has been driven to develop, lighter, stronger and more durable materials, fuel efficient engines, fly-by-wire controls, autonomous navigation systems, and satellite communications systems. The explosion in microprocessor technology has brought in avionics and equipment of unbelievable capability and reliability.