It is anticipated that world passenger traffic will increase substantially from 1980 to 2000. Douglas Aircraft believes that the aircraft to satisfy this increased demand, as well as to replace aircraft that will be removed from service because of noise, high fuel consumption, and age, will be derivatives of currently operational aircraft and all new advanced-technology aircraft.
Just as orderly evolutionary developments characterized commercial aviation in the past, it is anticipated that until at least the 1990s commercial aviation will evolve in a similar manner. After the mid 1990s and in the early years of the next century, it is likely that aircraft such as the AST, a double-decked large subsonic airplane, and perhaps a large optimized cargo plane will be required to satisfy the demands for air transportation. Because of limited capacity at major hub airports, planning will be necessary to accommodate these future large airplanes if the full potential of the world airport system is to be utilized.