In the introduction of the paper the most significant advantages, disadvantages and pitfalls are summarized which characterize pneumatic conveying technology. Historical remarks indicate a surprisingly high standard of pneumatic transport design which has been achieved already during the 19th century. The discussion of the development of prediction procedures for pressure drop and state of flow is used in order to show the development in the technology itself. Horizontal, as well as vertical upwards conveying, is taken into consideration. Unsteady states of flow, for example, plug flow in the form of naturally occurring plugs, is shown to be feasible in the case of coarse-grained particles with rather smooth surfaces. The various principles of plug forming devices for the transport of fine-grained, and, hence, compressible bulk material are mentioned. The use of synergetic effects is demonstrated for vibration-induced pneumatic conveying.