The history of the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) Technology dates back to the mid eighteen hundreds, where first aviation pioneers tried to create ships for the sky. During that time until the beginning of the Second World War airships all around the world were successfully in constant operation, both in civilian and military applications. Since then airships have never reached their former utilization. For the last few decades these air vehicles have been serving only diminutive specialized niche markets. Till today airships were not being able to reach lucrative markets in order to gain more market share within the steady growing field of aviation. Recently, a few companies and universities are trying to develop new kinds of airships for specialized missions, which they hope will bring the breakthrough for Lighter-Than-Air vehicles, e.g. hybrid airships. This paper gives a short overview of former fields of applications, critically enumerates chances and potentials for LTA technology and evaluates neutrally identified markets, e.g. luxury cruises.
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