Quote Originally Posted by Betelgeuzah View Post
So they don't know whether they are going to implement a delivery box and chocobos after the foundation is dealt with?

OK, lol.
The manner in which SE intend to deal with Airships suggests that it will be more complex than simply moving to an instanced location with a moving background (see FFXI) and will likely require forethought rather than tacked-on afterthough. (Airships were one of the things you originally listed as irrelevant).

Anyway, most games develop things in unison because it is more efficient than developing things one after the other.

SE admitted communication was a big issue for them, so maybe they prefer the one-tracked mind method of development because coordinating multiple tasks is too much of a logistical nightmare for them.