United Airlines wants to give its passenger a new flying experience by adding a fleet of supersonic jets. The airline has said that it planning to buy 15 supersonic airplanes from Boom Supersonic. According to the airline, it is kept open the option of purchasing 35 more supersonic jets at a later stage when the start-up starts designing these planes. The startup is working on making supersonic commercial flights back in the air. However, these planes are just an artist’s drawing at the moment and even the prototype is far from to be flown. The Overture is the first commercial supersonic jet of the company and it has neither been built nor certified yet. But the company has set the target of starting passenger service by the end of this decade, 2029 to be precise. However, getting clearance from regulators is going to be the biggest hurdle for the company.
The plane that the company is working is expected to be capable of flying at double the speed of the current fleet. The plane could possibly fly at Mach 1.7 and expected to trim some trip timings to half. This means that journey from New York to London could be covered in just 3.5 hours. Typically it takes seven hours to complete the journey. United CEO Scott Kirby said that the deal would give air passengers access to a stellar flight experience. “When the most robust network of the industry in the world would combine with the vision of Boom, it would definitely give leisure as well as business travelers an amazing experience,” the United CEO said in a release while making the announcement. The airline has not revealed the terms of the sale but both the companies have expressed confidence that the move will generate immediate benefits.
Denver-based Boom Supersonic was founded in the year 2014. It has managed to raise USD 270 million in capital so far and is currently working with an employee strength of 150. The order from United Airlines validates Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl’s vision of bringing back supersonic flights. “This is the first purchase order for net-zero carbon supersonic airplane in the world. It is a very significant step in the direction of our mission to make the world more accessible,” Scholl said. For those who are unaware, the supersonic Concorde was in operation from 1976 until October 2003.
Leave a Reply