I remember an old FAMITSU interview in which Nomura mentioned airships making a return, but this was a long time ago, before the name-change of course, anyone remember what he said?
And that's one of my biggest fears - It simply needs to nail airships (Well... Vehicle's in general). I loved FFX, but I remember how disappointed I was (knowing nothing about the game before playing, aside from it being a Final Fantasy game and therefore a must-buy... Those were the days) and eventually finding out there would be no exploration, at least not in the traditional sense. Back then, I couldn't quite figure out what was bothering me about it, since I loved everything else (even the cheesy and at times cringe-worthy voice acting), but I just realized it with time.
FFXV just reminds me of those days - I'm sure most of us feel this way - We want the king of JRPG's to return to its former glory!