joy ride - the internet and virtual conferencing may have helped the wheels of international business to turn and for millions of remote little deals to be done, but no-one ever signed a major deal without usually quite a few face to face look-them-in-the-eye meetings. That means very senior people have to go places and meet up.
And anyone faced with a 12 hour or more long haul flight wouldn't mind that journey time being a quarter of that length.
The need for fast air travel hasn't gone away. It's that in these accountant-driven days, and at current costs of achieving it, we know it can't be afforded!