Boeing 797: the future of air travel?

According to NewTechSpy, Boeing is developing the 797 to compete directly with the massive, but more traditionally built, Airbus A380. Featuring a blended wing/body co-developed with NASA, it introduces a completely new design, looking more like a stealth bomber than a 747. Able to hold 1,000 passengers on two levels, the new design increases the efficiency of the aircraft by 33% while increasing its speed to mach 0.88, or 654 mph — a significant bump from the A380's speed of 570 mph. This speed increase is a result of the 25% weight reduction and improved aerodynamics that the new body design features. The wingspan of 265 feet is over 50 feet longer than the 747's but only 3 feet more than the A380's. There's no word on when the 797 will be hitting runways near you, if ever, but it certainly has the potential to herald in a new era of commercial air travel. If it features improvements in airplane food as drastic as its improvements in energy efficiency, it might actually get us to travel more, too.