Carbon nanotubes are microscopic carbon pipes that are at least 100 times stronger than steel, but one-sixth as light. FlyFar plans to use carbon nanotubes to design a plane that will be able to travel longer distances without refueling than any other plane currently on the market. However, to incorporate this plane into their fleets, airliners would have to rearrange all their existing routes, which would prove extremely expensive.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for a prediction that airliners will purchase FlyFar’s new plane despite the massive logistical burden doing so would create?