In the future, passengers will be able to fly by supersonic plane to anywhere in the world in 4 hours for 100 USD.
Reviving the dream of commercial supersonic airplanes may at first seem like an outrageous fantasy. The Anglo-French Concorde, one of only two commercial supersonic aircraft, flown between 1969 and 2003, was ridiculously expensive and an environmental disaster.
But now, according to CNN, a host of new startups are working on hypersonic and supersonic projects amid a global aviation industry crisis.
Last October, Boom Supersonic was the first company to launch a large prototype of the XB1 supersonic passenger plane, promising to become the next-generation Concorde.
CNN quoted Blake Scholl – founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic – as saying that the XB-1 is an important milestone towards the development of the Overture commercial aircraft model that can reach speeds of Mach 2.2 (about 2,700km/km/h). h) in 2026.
Designed to accommodate 65 to 88 people, Overture will focus on more than 500 routes that primarily fly over oceans to benefit from Mach 2.2 – twice as fast as today’s subsonic commercial aircraft. .
For example, a supersonic flight from New York to London will take just 3 hours and 15 minutes, while from Los Angeles to Sydney will take only 8 and a half hours.
“Breaking the time barrier can be life-changing. It changes where we can go on vacation, changes where we can do business, changes that you might love or that you have,” Scholl said. closeness”.
Boom Supersonic’s current schedule is to fly the XB1 prototype around the end of 2021, break ground on a new factory in the US in 2022, and then start building the first Overture aircraft in 2023.
“We find ourselves continuing where Concorde has stopped and fixing what matters most is economic and environmental sustainability,” Scholl said.
Scholl’s aim is that airlines will be able to set fares at the same rate as business class – unlike Concorde, which in the ’90s charged around $12,000 for a round trip, or $20,000 in today’s prices. now.
“It’s not travel, it’s like something you can hope to do once in a lifetime. And we want to take passengers anywhere in the world in 4 hours for $100. Dream 4. Now, $100 is Boom’s long-term goal,” Scholl said.
Scholl said, although he does not want a pandemic to happen in the world, but really this period is an opportunity to promote the application of supersonic passenger aircraft .
Airlines have had to downsize their fleets and, in some cases, have forced the early retirement of wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380. The supersonic plane has a 60m incline with super-slim lines, no middle seats – a post-pandemic advantage.
Wide-body planes have a hard time finding parking in today’s super-congested airports, so “modest” planes like a Boeing 557, 737 or a Boom Overture will be much easier, Scholl explains.
According to Scholl, Boom’s first mission was fast enough to make a difference. While his company ultimately wants to connect any point in the world in up to 4 hours, at this stage the main goal is to be able to turn an overnight flight into a daytime flight.
Interest in Boom’s project is at a high level. A few weeks ago, Scholl spoke before the US House of Representatives Aviation Subcommittee , and in April, American Express Ventures was the latest celebrity investor to open its wallet. Boom says it currently has $6 billion in pre-orders for the Overture aircraft.
Boom’s biggest competitor in supersonic racing is Florida-based Aerion. In March 2021, the airline announced plans to launch a Mach 4+ commercial aircraft called the Aerion AS3, capable of carrying 50 passengers.
