It may have been roughly two decades since the demise of the Concorde, but it appears that supersonic passenger flights may not be lost in the past. Apparently, American Airlines has agreed to purchase as many as 20 supersonic jets from a new company called Boom Supersonic. The planes, of course, have not been built yet—as a matter of fact, they are still in the planning stages—so American has placed a non-refundable deposit in the meantime.
For now, this is about all the new partners have revealed but it does suggest that more deals like this will come in the future, since American Airlines is now the second US customer to buy planes from Boom. Just last year, Boom announced a similar deal with United Airlines, who purchased 15 of their “Overture” planes.
Boom CEO Blake Scholl explains, “There are tens of millions of passengers every year flying in business class on routes where Overture will give a big speed-up…and airlines will be able to do it profitably.”
He goes on to insist that their planes will be different from the last generation of supersonic flight, mostly in tems of expense. After all, the high cost of flights was the main reason the British-French Concorde did not take off. In this case, tickets for a supersonic flight from New York to London will cost between $4,000 and $5,000 and tak only about three-and-a-half hours, which is about half the time it takes today.
Overture can do this by transporting between 65 and 80 passengers over water at a speed of Mach 1.7—the equivalent of about 1,300 mph—with a range of 4,250 nautical miles. Furthermore, these planes will run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel.
Scholl adds, “Passengers want flights that are faster, more convenient, more sustainable and that’s what Overture delivers.”
American Airlines chief financial officer Derek Kerr celebrates the deal, also adding, “Looking to the future, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to deliver for our customers. We are excited about how Boom will shape the future of travel both for our company and our customers.”
