Some 10,000 guests gathered around the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental berkelir white-orange on Sunday (02/13/2011), in the hangar Boeing production facility in Everett, United States. New star was presented in the ceremonial launch of the theme "Incredible, Again" where guests are pampered to touch from near the plane.

Indeed, only in the fourth quarter of 2011, B747-8 Intercontinental was handed over to the Lufthansa Air. Then handed over to airlines such as Korean Air. However, the presence of B747-8 was indeed worthy of celebration, especially by American aviation.

The reason is, already since 2005, making the 4th generation aircraft Boeing 747 was announced. This is the largest commercial airplane made in America, and also the longest aircraft in the world (76.25 meters). Until December 2010 there have been registered orders 33 units of B747-8.

"We're really looking for a new, more modern aircraft and more environmentally friendly," said Nico Buchholz, Lufthansa Group's Executive Vice President of Fleet Management, to Boeing.

Compared with the B747-400, Boeing's B747-8 ensures that 30 percent more quiet, more fuel-efficient 16 percent, and 13 percent lower in cost per seat per mile. The Boeing 747-8 is also capable of carrying up to 467 passengers, 51 passengers or more than the B747-400.

If only the terminals at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has been renovated, with the ability scored into the upper deck passenger B747-8, then so-so we welcome the iron bird. Moreover, passengers of the 3 units of B737-800 NG is now flown Garuda can be crammed into a single unit of B747-8's. It's very efficient.

More passengers! That is what the airline world today. No wonder, the superjumbo Airbus A380 made in Toulouse, France, sold like hotcakes. The aircraft with two decks, for example, is believed to fly London-Singapore, Singapore-Sydney, and London-Tokyo.

Until now, there are about 15 airlines that have ordered the A380 approximately 150 units. In fact, the price per unit reached Rp 3.3 trillion, or in the Indonesian equivalent of investment costs of making a single toll road along approximately 30 kilometers.

Singapore Airlines was the first to fly the A380 from 28 October 2007. Although for reasons of convenience, the Singapore Airlines jumbo fill it with 471 seats: 12 seats class suites, 60 business class seats, and 399 economy class seats.

Class passengers get room suite is not just a wide foot, but as a private room! At the stern there are also cabins sleep A380 for flight attendants and other cabin crew. Indeed, the facilities are very didamba passengers and crew members.

Concorde

February 2011, approximately five days before the B747-8 Intercontinental launched, in one corner of Water factory buses, in Toulouse, France, was captured by the eye, a Concorde which had flown Air France. Legendary aircraft was parked near other historic aircraft.

When approached, it was surprising, it turns white berkelir Concorde is very tall. There is the impression of an aristocrat, with the position of the aircraft that looked up, and the cockpit room which is very high from the earth's surface.

From the exterior, there is the impression sexy with wings and legs deltanya jenjangnya. There are different shades of course when the Concorde was parked on the apron adjacent to other commercial aircraft.

Concorde, at one time, been a witness to the sophisticated style of life that went back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean in just three hours when other kinds of commercial aircraft Boeing 747 had to cross the Atlantic in six hours.

I had the opportunity to see Concorde's cabin. "I opened the padlock this plane because you all buy our Airbus," said the guide from Airbus, with a smile. Our arrival to Toulouse is indeed to pick up soon Airbus A320 flown by the airline AirAsia Indonesia.

When looked and walked on the inside of the cabin, I was a little too surprised because the cabin was so cramped. Seat configuration was 2-2, similar to the executive the night bus, with gray interior colors dull.

The narrowness of the cabin Concorde necessarily follow that the aircraft aerodynamic design that can fly beyond the speed of sound. When the general commercial aircraft flying at 800 kilometers per hour, the engine Rolls-Royce Snecma able melesatkan Concorde with a speed of 2189 km per hour.

The height of the home range was no longer only 36,000 feet, but the Concorde air at an altitude of 60,000 feet. And from the window of a dimension smaller Concorde to be able to withstand strong pressure is higher in the sky, the passengers can enjoy sophisticated curved earth.

I imagine, excitement in the aircraft cabin while the men black suit, along with women with mini dresses and huge diamonds that hung on their chests greet each other with each other. Then the flight attendants also distribute wine glasses so that more fanfare burst in the cabin.

Not to mention when curvature of the earth began to appear at an altitude of 60,000 feet, and they scramble out of the window. It must be incredible atmosphere inside the plane. It seems also boredom never got ambushed. No term, die force because a moment later the plane began to fall to prepare for landing at Heathrow (London) or John F Kennedy (New York).

Suddenly a burst of questions, will the Concorde is flying again?

This question is common, because so long, from Jakarta to destinations in Europe must be taken with a 15-20 hour flight! Is not the Concorde maximum latency to about 10 hours? Travel to Europe is not it not too bad?

The era of super-jumbo

Unfortunately not seen any bright spot in the operation of back Concorde. No airline is interested anymore, otherwise airlines even seen all my heart love fat kinds of planes Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and the Airbus A380.

What is needed is indeed super-jumbo aircraft, capable of carrying passengers as much as possible, in hopes of reducing the burden of runway capacity is increasingly limited.

Super-jumbo plane that is actually needed by Indonesia-countries that are always difficult to build any infrastructure. Look at the limitations of the runway in Cengkareng, Ngurah Rai Airport, until Adisutjipto Airport. Limitations that make the slot-time, highly compressed schedule and begin to interfere with takeoff.

And the Concorde, with a passenger carrying capacity of 100 people, of course does not count to meet the needs of a super-jumbo aircraft.

It had been so, this is the era where the jet-fuel prices reached 130 U.S. dollars per barrel. The increasingly difficult conditions because the plane was famous Concorde wasteful consumption of fuel, which is 6.5 more wasteful than other commercial aircraft.

A guide Airbus, which led us to see the Concorde, it was said, with the Airbus A330, you fly from Singapore in the evening, and landed in Paris right in the morning. Then, you can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate with croissants while enjoying Paris in the morning. What happens when rising Concorde? You arrive in Paris at midnight, and was forced into night-clubs, she says with a chuckle.

So Concorde, because 'ee can not fly anymore, aurevoir, until we meet again, Monsieur ... See you again in Toulouse ....