Zeppelin to Save on Gas?

The Zeppelin is returning to the skies of the United States. Although the video discusses a 12 seater tour application, it is possible that for some routes a rigid airship could provide cheap, fuel efficient transport. Such airships do not need roads and their airfields are simple. They do not need to spend energy to maintain lift, since they use the buoyancy of helium. It might even be possible to cover their ample surface area with solar panels, thus deriving a portion of the energy needed to run their engines, which they use for horizontal thrust.