Some old ideas are good ideas.
One thing I like was that the Zeppelin engines ran on both diesel and hydrogen, so as fuel was burned, gas was burned to compensate. As they heated in the sun they could burn hydrogen, reducing lift, and as they cooled, could burn diesel reducing weight.
By contrast, the US Navy used Helium gas filled blimps, and had huge problems with compensating burned fuel with more gas, and then compensating for sun-heating with wasteful gas release.
A hybrid hybrid, with some permanent Helium bags, and some flexible Hydrogen bags with diesel-hydrogen may be the best approach.
Always keeping in mind that hydrogen is an energy storage medium, not a energy source.
I like helium filled dirigibles even more. The trouble with them is, you need to have respect for the weather. The US lost most of its zeppelins by flying them into squall lines and other stupidity. The Germans could use a hurricane to speed an Atlantic crossing by flying around the edge of it with a tail wind.
Probably the idea in the article could be used to good advantage in fuel economy, and possibly travel time, by a skilled captain willing to take slightly longer routes when favorable winds commended them. Still my sense is this is one of those ideas that's sheer folly at $50/barrel, dubious at $60/barrel, but might be sensible and all the rage if oil hit $100/barrel.