The idea of driverless pods for transporting passengers that could be moved from trains to aeroplanes is gaining ground and could redefine air transport as we know it.
Aircraft design has changed little since the 1960s, but radical new innovations are now on the horizon. One of these is the pod concept, which enables passengers to board a plane as if they're boarding a metro wagon. The EU-funded FANTASSY (Future aircraft design following the carrier-pod concept as an enabler for co-modal seamless transport, passenger safety and environmental sustainability) project worked on such a concept to bring about seamless air transport, coupled with enhanced passenger safety and environmental protection. The project envisioned a new aircraft design that combines a 'passenger pod' and a 'carrier' aircraft to receive it.
Further information: Revolutionary aircraft design on the horizon