In order to make its fleet more sustainable and faster, Boom Supersonic plans to buy Overture jets.
Boom Supersonic announced the purchase of 15 supersonic Overture jets by United Airlines. It is the first American airline to announce plans to go supersonic, bringing back dreams of supersonic flights aboard the Concorde in the late 1960s. The aircraft was only built in numbers of 20 during its 24-year operational life.
With a top speed of Mach 1.7, or 1,304 mph, the Overture would cut flight time in half over a conventional commercial airliner. Boom says it would take just 3.5 hours to fly from New York to London and eight hours to fly from Los Angeles to Sydney.
According to Boom, the Overture will run on sustainable aviation fuel and will be designed to be “net-carbon zero” unlike the Concorde, which was neither fuel-efficient nor quiet. It is expected that the first aircraft will be released in 2025, fly in 2026, and carry its first passengers by 2029.
“United continues on its trajectory to build a more innovative, sustainable airline and today’s advancements in technology are making it more viable to include supersonic planes,” CEO Scott Kirby explained. “Boom’s vision for the future of commercial aviation, combined with the industry’s most robust route network in the world, will give business and leisure travelers access to a stellar flight experience.”
Neither Flexjet nor NetJets have announced that they intend to purchase business jets from Aerion. This is the first announcement of a supersonic firm partnering with a large aviation company. A new research and production facility near Orlando will be built sometime this year by the Reno-based company, which has launched its AS2 in its quickest, most ambitious manner. In a sudden announcement last week, it announced it was shutting down because it couldn’t secure long-term funding.
A third-scale demonstrator aircraft, the XB1, was unveiled last year by Boom, which seems to be ahead of its former competitor in development. In a recent hearing before Congress, CEO Blake Scholl said the company plans to fly the XB1 for the first time by the end of 2021.
A large personal space, an in-seat entertainment screen, and contactless technology will be part of Overture’s design. “At speeds twice as fast, United passengers will experience all the advantages of life lived in person, from deeper, more productive business relationships to longer, more relaxing vacations to far-off destinations,” Scholl explained. In addition, United has the option to purchase 35 more Overtures.
Overture, according to Scholl, represents the first dramatic increase in speed since the Concorde. “We see ourselves as picking up where Concorde left off, and fixing the most important things which are economic and environmental sustainability,” Burrows told CNN, adding: “Either we fail or we change the world.”
