Yes, but for passenger service rather than cargo. Passenger jets are too fast, too uncomfortable, and cause too much pollution.
Passenger jets are too fast
People complain about that? If they were too fast - impossible concept - then I wouldn’t complain. After the first two hours I don’t need to see the empty sky so much, and judging by the video panel use I’m not in the minority thinking so. If it became faster to get between the biggest 10 airports in the world, because of some super passenger rocket, then I’d be all for it. Even the best flight home from NZ is 16 hours I can’t ever get back; and even the best flight is still a horrible time stuck in a tube with a few hundred people I don’t want to know by smell.
Airlines are too fast in several senses. First, people don’t usually need to get somewhere as quickly as an airline allows. Someone who is really on urgent business can use telepresence or a charter instead. Second, the airports on either end of a trip are frequently too slow, making airlines and example of “hurry up and wait”. Third, airlines move people through timezones very quickly, exacerbating jet lag.
I agree with you that airlines are too uncomfortable even for their speed to overcome. Slow travel can be much more comfortable. For example, many people are willing to spend days on trains and cruise ships.
Because I think it’s bad economics to try to transport finished goods over long distances quickly. It’s better to transport raw materials long distances slowly (ship and rail) and employ people to manufacture things near where they are needed.
What’s the advantage to transporting raw materials as opposed to finished goods? You’re giving up economies of scale and support infrastructure, I’m not clear what you are getting in return.
