Toulouse , France ( CNN ) -- The disruptive days of thunderous , fuel-guzzling planes hovering in our skies could be a thing of the past . So too could the tortuous queues and endless boarding process , if futuristic flight concepts become reality . Since the first commercial passenger flight in 1914 , 65 billion passengers have taken to the skies and another 65 billion are expected to do the same before 2030 . And experts say efficient , greener performance is what will steer aviation into the next century . `` A major breakthrough in an airliner will bring half a percent , 1 % greater fuel efficiency , which does n't sound like much -- but to an airline , it 's huge . It 's millions of dollars ( in savings ) a year , '' said Robert van der Linden , chair and curator of air transportation at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum . The Airbus A380 is the world 's biggest passenger aircraft , and its future depends on constant redevelopment and improving performance . The energy problem is one of the major drivers for the company , Gregor Dirks , corporate innovator for Airbus , told CNN 's Isa Soares . `` We have to do something about it . Reducing fuel burn is one way , and we have been very successful in the past . '' The Airbus vision of the future can be seen through its concept plane design , which is packed with the stuff made of engineering dreams . One concept feature is dubbed `` eco-climb , '' where take off is assisted by propelled acceleration for a steeper climb , so that planes reach efficient cruise altitudes sooner . In the concept cabin , seats will use body heat to power aircraft systems such as holographic pop-up pods , while a futuristic cabin membrane can become transparent to give passengers open panoramic views . What 's more , Airbus has radical ideas for speedier boarding . `` We could think about city center check-in and actually transport little pods to the airport where the passengers are already in and just slide the pod into the airplane , '' said Dirks . Some of the full-blown features of the Airbus concept plane will become a reality later this century , according to Dirks , but parts of the vision are already being implemented in the current fleet . Titanium brackets used in the cabin have been made using 3-D printing , reducing the weight of the parts , and allowing the manufacture of `` organic '' shapes that would otherwise be too expensive to produce . `` This is going to be a big revolution in manufacturing , '' predicted Dirks . `` Passengers wo n't see it much but they get more choice and they got it cheaper and earlier . ''
Aviation 's future must be efficient , greener and easier as air traffic grows . Comment: Cabins with glass-top ceilings are part of the Airbus vision .