THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
You could be flying across the Atlantic in as little as three and a half hours, if a recently announced deal by American Airlines goes ahead.
American Airlines Group Inc. agreed, on August 16, to purchase up to 20 Overture airplanes from Greensboro, NC, based Boom Supersonic. The deal depends on several safety, operating and sustainability requirements being met. American has an option to purchase a further 40 jets. This is the second deal for Boom with a major US airline. In 2021, United Airlines agreed to buy 15 Overture aircraft, with similar conditions attached. Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines and the US Air Force are among other customers.
Blake Scholl, Boom's chief executive, said that the deal brings the company's order book to 130 aircraft, including options, valued at about $26 billion. He added: “I started this because I was sad that I never got to fly on Concorde. I waited but no one was doing it, so I decided to."
The four-engined Boom Overture jet can carry between 65 and 80 passengers at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, around twice that of most commercial airplanes. Its maximum operational speed will be Mach 1.7 (just over 1,300mph) over the sea, making it capable of flying from Miami to London in under five hours, or between London and New York in around three and a half hours, halving current flight durations.
Environmental campaigners have criticized supersonic for burning more fuel per passenger than comparable subsonic planes. However the Overture jet is designed to run on sustainable aviation fuel. The first aircraft are scheduled be completed in 2025, followed by test flights in 2026.
If all goes to plan, Boom supersonic jets could be carrying their first passengers in 2029. It is a return for ultra-fast passenger transport that will surprise many, given that it is 29 years since the Anglo-French Concorde made its final flight, three years after its sole fatal crash. Concorde also suffered from high operating costs.
Business traveler are expected to be the main customer base for supersonic travel, from whom the ticket price (between $4,000 and $5,000 between London and NYC, speculated Mr Scholl) would not be a deterrent.
