The planes haven’t been built yet, but Boom says they will fly at 1.7 times the speed of sound, or around 2,092 km / h. Photo: AP
United Airlines wants to bring back supersonic travel before the end of the decade with an airplane that is currently just an artist’s drawing – even the prototype has not yet flown.
The airline announced Thursday that it plans to purchase 15 jets from Boom Supersonic with an option to 35 more once the start-up develops an aircraft that will fly faster than the speed of sound while meeting safety and environmental standards.
United hopes to air passengers in 2029 The airline said the plane will cut flights between London and the New York area to just 3 1/2 hours and make Tokyo just six hours from San Francisco.
A rendering of the supersonic jet that United Airlines will buy from Boom Supersonic. Photo: boom supersonic
United declined to talk about the financial terms, but Boom CEO Blake Scholl said the deal was worth $ 3 billion, or $ 200 million per plane, excluding the haircuts typical of the aviation business.
Almost two decades have passed since the last flight of the supersonic Concorde, with which British Airways and Air France began taking passengers across the Atlantic in luxury in 1976. The last one was retired in 2003, three years after an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel shortly after taking off from Paris, killing everyone on board and four people on the ground.
Several companies are working on developing new supersonic jets that are more economical on fuel – and cause fewer climate-damaging emissions – than the Concorde.
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Boom is developing an 88-seat aircraft called the Overture, which will be the first supersonic aircraft to run on what is known as sustainable fuel. Scholl said a one-third size prototype will make its first test flight later this year or early 2022.
The Denver-based company said the aircraft would be able to reach speeds of up to 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 2,092 kilometers per hour. That is slower than the Concorde, but more than twice as fast as many current commercial aircraft.
United’s confirmation is a huge win for Boom. Another supersonic competitor, Aerion, said last month it was running out of money to get its aircraft, the AS2, into production.
Supersonic jets are often banned over populated areas because of the sonic boom they produce. This eliminates many potential overland routes as the aircraft would have to fly at less efficient subsonic speeds.
Chicago-based United believes that its coastal hubs in San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey and its corporate travelers make it better suited than its competitors to provide supersonic services.
Mike Leskinen, United’s vice president of corporate development and a former aerospace analyst, said United hopes to offer both premium and economy seating but no final decisions have been made about the cabin layout.
United will purchase 15 Overture jets from Boom.
United is sensitive to the high airfares that contributed to the Concorde’s demise and trusts that the operating costs of the boom plane will come down over time, as it has done with other jets.
The Concorde was the pride of British and French aircraft companies and ushered in a new era of fast travel over long distances. The plane had a distinctive delta wing design that made it easy to spot if it was flying overhead on its way to New York or Dulles Airport outside of Washington.
Despite its seal of approval, the aircraft has never spread widely. The sonic boom limited its overland flight routes, and its high cost and relatively small size compared to other jets made tickets too expensive for anyone other than the rich or well-connected.
Artist’s impression of the United Airlines Boom Supersonic Overture Jet. Photo: AP
Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst at Atmosphere Research, said the boom jet appears to be geared towards business aviation, but companies are trying to cut travel costs and could resist putting employees on supersonic flights if prices are too high.
Scholl said the boom jet will be 75 percent cheaper than the Concorde thanks to decades of advances in engines and lighter fuselages.
“This will be a ticket that is affordable for a lot more people than ever supersonic,” said Scholl. He predicted that the speed of supersonic flight will revolutionize air travel, just as jets have replaced most large propeller-driven aircraft.
Not everyone who follows aviation is convinced, because it costs billions of dollars to develop a new aircraft.
Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said he believed that if there was a profitable market for supersonic aircraft, Boeing and Airbus would build them.
“It tells you the huge, established players don’t see it,” he said. “There’s no reason they couldn’t do that. There’s no secret sauce Boom is keeping in a safe somewhere.”
AP
See also: Dream about: developer of supersonic aircraft ceases operations
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June 4, 2021
