A rigid airship has a frame whereas a blimp doesn't. The overpressure of helium in a blimp retains the shape of the craft. In 1936, the German Zeppelin Hindenburg carried a total of 1,002 passengers on 10 scheduled roundtrips between Germany and the United States. Confidence in the cigar-shaped airships was wiped out overnight. During World War II, the Zeppelin airship works were destroyed by allied bombing.
Airships can transport large numbers of people and freight.
They are environmentally friendly and they take up less space than traditional aircraft because they land and take off in vertical position. All they need is a mooring pole. Modern day zeppelins are filled with helium as opposed to the highly inflammable hydrogen used back in the 1930s. Zeppelins can also stay up in the air for very long periods and though not necessarily important, it's a lot more spectacular taking a zeppelin than your regular bus or train southwards on a sunny holiday. Rigid Air Design maintains that zeppelins are THE solution for the increasing transport problems in The Netherlands and says they are a lot cheaper.