Imagine climbing aboard a sub-orbital aircraft that could take you from New York City to London in less than one hour.  How might that completely change the world of travel?  For that matter, how might that change the world?

London’s Knight Frank produces an annual report called The Wealth Report in which they share investment trends of the world’s uber-wealthy. One of the trends to be identified in the May 5th release of The Wealth Report 2014 is the rising trend for private wealth investment in sub-orbital travel.

From Knight Frank:

“By traveling outside the Earth’s atmosphere, gravitational forces will allow spacecraft to travel at over 4,000 miles per hour, so breakfast in Mayfair (London) could easily be followed by lunch overlooking Sydney Opera House,” explains Knight Frank’s Head of Research Liam Bailey.

Flight Times to Key Destinations by Conventional Flight and Sub-Orbital Travel

Talking to The Wealth Report, entrepreneur Richard Branson said: “New commercial space will be one of the most exciting investment sectors in the next 20 years, driven by the initial successes of companies like Virgin Galactic. There is already some good evidence that the leading players are receiving high levels of interest from the mainstream investment community and attracting valuations that reflect confidence in future growth and opportunity.”

Although sub-orbital trips for wealthy tourists will keep Virgin Galactic busy in the short term, Mr Branson says the next step for the technology will be to slash travel times around the world. “I’m very excited about a future version of our current spaceship which will make transcontinental travel clean and fast – London to Sydney in a couple of hours with minimal environmental impact.”

Breakfast in Scottsdale, and Lunch in Paris?

While this technology is still out of the reach of practicality, as these innovations continue to mature, and a viable transportation service emerges, the world of travel will unalterably be changed.

Imagine being able to fly to Europe in less than an hour.  And, if it were affordable, how might that change the way you think about travel?

I can tell you this, we’ve forgone travel to places that require over 10 hours of flight because I simply can’t stand the thought of sitting on a plane for 20 hours or more.  To think that we might someday fly to Singapore in less than 2 hours is pretty exciting.  Don’t you think?

How might 4,000 mph sub-orbital flights change the way you think about travel?

Content source: Knight Frank

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