> The last 50 years of aviation have produced fewer innovations than any single decade in the previous 50 years.

Between 1968 and 2014 the average fuel burn of new aircraft fell approximately 45% [1]. We also move more people more reliably [2]. That's innovation in my book.

I guess we're just past the "wild designs" phase, and there's an (inherent ?) bias to only think of these as innovation.

[1] https://www.theicct.org/publications/fuel-efficiency-trends-...

[2] https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviation-safety/2017-safes...