Since the plane has been invented and especially since it has become easier for mass usage of planes for global travel it has changed our world and the way we live. We can travel to places that our ancestors could only have dreamt of, to mountains, tropical forests, deserts and other places on the other side of the world. However, in addition to the benefits of modern flying, there are also some possible drawbacks.

Planes consume a lot of petrol. This petrol contributes to a lot of pollution. There is more and more awareness of this and many people are now familiar with the term 'carbon footprint' which means how much carbon dioxide is released in to the air by the journeys and flights that you carry out.

However for most people flying is still mainly or exclusively a great thing which enables them to travel and see exciting new places, or to meet friends and family in other countries or go to other cities for work.

Will modern flying change?

That's an interesting question.

Elon Musk has spoken of how in the future all flights to anywhere in the world could take an hour or less. So a person flying from London to Tokyo or from Rio de Janeiro to Moscow could take one hour for either of the two flights.

There are of course undoubted benefits to that as it saves time for many people. A student from Japan based in London could have a weekend break in Tokyo!

The other negative aspects of flying include not being able to take as much luggage as you want, and having to wait for hours at the airport. In some countries, people prefer to use trains, whereas in other countries such as the United States flying by plane is very normal and is not difficult and is more common than using trains. The same for Australia wherein 2017 the Melbourne to Sydney flight route was the second busiest flight route according to one source.

What do you think are will happen in the future in terms of planes and flying?