The Revival Of Supersonic Aircrafts?

The Concorde was the fastest passenger aircraft ever made in the human history till date. It was capable of flying at double the speed of sound (Mach 2.04), and fly at over 60,000 feet above in the sky.

The Supersonic travel ended in the year ‘2003’, after British Airways and Air France retired their Concorde aircrafts. Till date there is no passenger aircraft in service, which is capable flying at faster the speed of sound or at that much high altitude as the Concorde.

The American Carrier, United recently ordered 15 of Boom Supersonics’ Overture jets with options for 35 more aircrafts if United desires, which will have similar parameters as the Concorde. A single model costs $200 million, making the deal worth $3 billion.

Boom Supersonic is a Colorado-based start-up that’s leading the development of supersonic aircraft to usher in a new era of commercial air travel.

With its flagship aircraft, Overture Boom hopes to get travellers flying greater than the speed of sound by 2030, less than 30 years since the iconic Concorde’s retirement from the skies in 2003.

According to the reports, the Overture aircraft will have 88 all business class configuration seats. Overture aims to also fly above traditional aircraft at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet.

The New York-London route is a prime candidate for the aircraft with United touting a three-hour and 30-minute journey time from its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport to the UK capital. Other potential routes include Newark-Frankfurt, Germany at just four hours.

Another potential routes include, San Francisco-Tokyo, Japan at six hours. Overture’s range, however, would have to be extended to make this route work without stopping for fuel.

Overture is expected to debut in 2025 with its first flight planned for 2026. The first passengers are expected to fly on Overture in 2029, truly marking the beginning of a new era for supersonic travel.

Feature Image Courtesy: Boom Supersonic

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