On: The U.S.S. Akron and U.S.S. Macon, America's “flyi...

[bombcar]

Yeah, for cargo they're absolutely insane - maybe in some rare cases they could replace cargo/heavy lift helicopters - but otherwise they don't have much in the way of advantages.

[Pxtl → bombcar]

Basically the only scenario I've heard where they might be economical is the arctic, which is frequently impassible for everything but planes.

There are few other places where roads or boats have effectiveness reduced to the point where an airship becomes an option.

[bombcar → Pxtl]

The “economical” would only come into play in potential perfect carbon tax environments from what I understand.

Imagine a zeppelin configured like a sailing ship of the skies, designed to travel mainly under wind power and rarely fire its engines

[hutzlibu → bombcar]

Also add lightweight solar panels to the hull (they exist as foil already) and you might have something economically in sunny areas.