The future or another interesting idea but bad business plan? The ticket prices will likely be as expensive as the Concorde, so bankers only need apply.
Aerospace group EADS, owner of planemaker Airbus, thinks it has the answer — a hypersonic jet that flies above the atmosphere, yet takes off from a regular runway.
"It is not a Concorde but it looks like a Concorde, showing that aerodynamics of the 1960s were very smart," Jean Botti, EADS' chief technical officer, said.
By flying above the atmosphere and using biofuel to get the plane off the ground initially, the group hopes to avoid the supersonic boom and pollution Concorde was notorious for.
"When you are above the atmosphere nobody hears anything," Botti said.
