The savings to airlines will be tremendous, according to computer models run by NASA and the airlines. But it will cost billions to get there. And it's such a massive undertaking that the modernization rivals the International Space Station in complexity. He has the challenging job of trying to assess whether new systems actually improve efficiency, a task that's never been attempted before in such a complex system. The bottom line with these improvements is that what they'll see is an avoidance of how it would get if we did nothing.
Demand always catches up with capacity.
With a more efficient system, it's likely that passengers will have more choices at peak travel times and new routes that couldn't be opened now without inviting more congestion. Jane Ellen Stevens , a pilot herself, is a science and technology multimedia journalist based in California. She regularly visits and writes about life at the extremes. Buy the Raging Planet Video Series to witness more weather phenomena. Airplanes line up on the runway of New York's La Guardia Airport ready for takeoff.