If science fiction has taught me only one thing, it's that zeppelins (and beards) are very popular in all parallel universes. Perhaps they know something that we don't?<p>Seriously though, I'm also not convinced that it uses less fuel than an ordinary jet to carry the same number of people the same distance. Look at the amount of air which needs to be pushed out of the way of that great big hull just to carry a couple of dozen people, and remember that a single 747 carries twenty times more people.<p>Also, helium is (in practical terms) a non-renewable resource for the moment.