When that day comes, something more than the insertion of digital technology into decrepit airframes will be required.

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Over the years, Boeing has probably accumulated more data on the fatigue life of airframes than any other plane-maker.

ECONOMIST: Aircraft fatigue

But the geared turbofan and the open rotor are so different from each other that they will need different airframes.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

No matter what Boeing does to rectify its aging 737s, their airframes are clocking up stress reversals that can never be expunged.

ECONOMIST: Aircraft fatigue

New technologies, including composite airframes, lighter engines and advanced avionics and design systems, are bringing a huge new generation of giants to life.

FORBES: Magazine Article

We may or may not know sometime around 2030, when the next generation of airframes have been in the air for a couple of decades.

FORBES: Boeing's Dreamliner and Airbus' Response

Every new military technology that came along, from stealthy airframes to smart bombs to digital data links, seemed to demonstrate that future wars would be won in the skies above rather than on the ground below.

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Airport logistics could also be improved, for instance by allowing passengers to board pods in their own time - pods that are then swiftly loaded into airframes that can be flown - the way ready-loaded containers are loaded onto ships.

BBC: Sowing the seeds of tomorrow's aircraft