Airships

[someONEgood]

The basics of what I'm suggesting are to bring back the social aspects of airships.
Currently Airships are 200gil, and near instant transportation.
Yet, with city-states set as favored locations, you can teleport for slightly over 200gil, making airships more of a novelty than a necessity.

Also gone is the social aspect of meeting new people while traveling aboard the ships. If people are in a hurry, let them teleport. Others can travel upon the airships at a leisurely pace, even if it's walking about the airship lost in a sea of clouds for zoning restrictions.

What I'm merely suggesting is this. Bring back the actual wait and travel times of airships, but make them a free utility. Lore wise, this could be a commissioning of the leaders of the Grand Companies to promote the reignited unity between the 3 city states. This includes any level character, as there's no longer any worry they might travel to far abroad with no way to return from lack of funding.

[someONEgood]

In order to not break the current sense of satisfaction from being awarded an airship pass, the various GC leaders can still issue an airship pass at the appropriate story level. However, this airship pass grants you a VIP trip, similar to what we have now.
Same cutscene etc, but with just you boarding the Admirals [TILL SEA SWALLOW ALL!] private airship.

What could make the achievement more immense than waiting for an airship and crowding on with others at lower levels, and then getting a VIP pass and an airship all to yourself, with no wait, as the official envoy of your city state?

You can then later opt to continue to use the VIP airship for coin (or maybe GC seals?), or wait and board to meet others on a more leisurely trip.

An anxious line of NPCs around the airship counters, bantering about how they're excited to finally be able to visit loved ones in foreign states, or finally "make it big" could add some nuance as well.

(Quest to retrieve someones forgotten gifts/luggage because they don't dare lose their place in line, anyone?)

Please upvote if you like this idea, and want to see actual airship travel.