American Airlines became the latest carrier to buy into the dream of ultra-fast travel with an order for 20 Boom Supersonic jets on Tuesday.
Fifteen of the same planes promised to cut flight times have already been booked by United Airlines last year, and Denver’s Boom says 130 planes are already on order from companies such as Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
But the planes don’t exist yet: The first Overture model is expected to roll out of the Boom plant in North Carolina in 2025, with the plane entering commercial service by the end of the decade.
The promise of the new planes is potentially groundbreaking: the planes are designed to travel at twice the speed of today’s commercial jets—at Mach 1.7 over water—and carry slightly fewer passengers—65 to 80.
The launch of Overtures would restart commercial supersonic transatlantic travel almost 20 years after the landing and unloading of the Franco-British Concorde supersonic airliner amid exorbitant ticket prices, high fuel consumption and high running costs, and after the deadly crash at Charles de Gaulle airport. in Paris in July 2000.
The victims of crash AF4590, when the plane crashed into a hotel shortly after takeoff, were 109 people on board and four on the ground. The incident had nothing to do with supersonic travel.
Can Boom’s Supersonic Jets Succeed Where Concorde Failed?
Why did Concorde fail so spectacularly? Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy, an independent air transport consultancy, shared his thoughts on the matter with Newsweek.
“[One reason] was that [supersonic aircraft] could only fly in certain limited sectors,” he said. “The second one was that it was incredibly expensive, burned a lot of fuel, and you couldn’t fit a lot of passengers.”
Boom has learned from Concorde’s failure, and the company says its Overture won’t cause the same problems.
“[Boom’s] planes are promising a lot of things,” Charlton said. “The first is that with newer technology and a curved nose, the plane will have significantly less sonic boom than Concorde’s supersonic jets, noise that Britain’s Noise Advisory Council described as intolerable in 2004.”
Boom’s Overtures are expected to cover far more routes than Concorde’s supersonic aircraft ever could.
“One of the problems Concorde had was that it could only fly supersonically over water, which severely limited its usefulness. You couldn’t fly, for example, from Singapore to Sydney, you couldn’t fly from LA to New York, you couldn’t fly. No fly from London to Hong Kong.’
Boom says Overture won’t have the same problem.
The company said the planes are designed to cover more than 600 routes around the world in “half the time”, promising to “fly from Miami to London in just under five hours and Los Angeles to Honolulu in three hours”. “Many options” are offered by airplanes.
“They say you don’t have to worry about the environment either,” added Charlton.
“Overture is the first supersonic aircraft designed with durability in mind from day one,” says Boom. “We are optimizing the aircraft to incorporate 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and facilitate net zero carbon operations.”
Boom said it wants to achieve net zero carbon dioxide by 2025, when the first Overture model will be ready, and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
No details about the tariffs have been released yet, as each airline will decide the exact price of the flights on the supersonic jets. But according to Boom, the company is designing the Overture to “offer fares comparable to today’s business class airlines.”
Newsweek has contacted Boom Supersonic for comment.
Will Boom’s Overture Change Air Travel As We Know It?
“What we’ve got at the moment is marketing and nothing else,” says Charlton. This may interest you : China launches high-tech aircraft carrier at a naval milestone.
“The first thing is, no land-based aircraft are currently authorized to fly at Mach 1.7, although I think it’s only a matter of time.” Concorde flights had a maximum speed of over Mach 2.
“The second thing is, all the SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) available in the world put together would only fuel Lufthansa for four days, so somehow Boom thinks it has the right to be at the front of the queue for SAF available,” he added.
“Airlines all over the world, particularly in Europe, are getting mandates to use SAFs. So there’s going to be enormous pressure on the SAF market, and nobody seems to have thought about it yet. Everyone’s just blithely assuming we’re going to have the SAFs we want.”
Charlton also said Boom’s Overtures has no engine manufacturer working on the four engines designed to power the aircraft. “They don’t even have an engine manufacturer signed up,” he said. “Rolls-Royce spent some time working with them to try to develop things, but now they’ve walked away.”
Newsweek asked Boom to confirm this statement.
Even if those open questions are resolved, Charlton doesn’t believe the new planes will revolutionize air travel as a whole.
“That will be the icing on the cake,” he said. “It’s not going to change aviation as we know it. It’s aimed at a very small sector of the market. If everyone in the world took supersonic business jets, it might change aviation, but I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, because I think the costs will be too prohibitive.”
But Charlton’s skepticism is not shared by many in the aviation industry, especially those investing in new aircraft.
“Looking forward, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to deliver to our customers,” said Derek Kerr, American’s chief financial officer.
“We are excited about how Boom will shape the future of travel for both our company and our customers.”
Responding to Kerr’s enthusiasm, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said, “We are proud to share our vision for a more connected and sustainable world with American Airlines.”
“We believe Overture deepens American’s competitive advantage in network, loyalty and overall airline preference through the paradigm-shifting benefits of cutting travel times in half.”
Boom remains a private company with financial backing from global venture capital firms, individual investors and prospective airline customers.
How much faster was Concorde compared to a Boeing 747?
At Mach 2 — or 1,350 mph — at 60,000 feet, Concorde flew five miles above, and subsonic 747s cruised across the Atlantic at 800 mph faster.
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What speed did Concorde take off at?
About Concorde With a takeoff speed of 220 knots (250 mph) and a cruising speed of 1,350 mph – more than twice the speed of sound – a typical crossing from London to New York would take just under three and a half hours. On the same subject : US Air Force Secretary: China’s actions around Taiwan increase risk. about eight hours for a subsonic flight.
Did Concorde travel faster than a bullet?
Concorde, which retired in 2003, flew at twice the speed of sound, faster than a rifle bullet, and cut transatlantic crossing times in half.
Where are the remaining Concordes?
The last Concorde ever built (G-BOAF) is on display at the Aerospace Bristol aerospace museum near Filton. G-BOAF also made the last flight of all Concordes on 26 November 2003.
What happened to the Concordes? When the Concorde plane passed over it, it shredded its tires and threw an engine and fuel tank, causing a disabling fire. Concorde aircraft went into service in November 2001, but a series of minor problems prompted both Air France and British Airways to end Concorde service permanently in October 2003.
How many Concordes are left?
United States of America. Three Concordes live in the United States. All are production models formerly operated by British Airways and Air France. An Air France Concorde (F-BVFA) is housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.
Where are the Concordes parked?
The remains of this aircraft are kept in a hangar at Le Bourget airport. Manchester Airport Viewing Park, England. This aircraft was British Airways’ flagship Concorde due to its BOAC registration, being the first Concorde delivered to BA.
How fast are supersonic jets?
The planes are expected to carry 65 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7 — or about 1,300 mph — over water, which is twice as fast as current commercial airline options. Mach 1.7 is 1.7 times the speed of sound.
How fast does a supersonic jet go? Boom says its plane will fly at 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 1,300 mph, and will carry between 65 and 80 passengers.
Are supersonic jets faster than sound?
It could fly at more than twice the speed of sound, cutting London to New York flights to less than three hours. Flying supersonic creates a sonic boom, however.
How fast is ultrasonic speed?
The speed of propagation of sound waves through tissue is an important element of ultrasound. In ultrasound machines, sound waves travel at a speed of 1540 m/sec through 1 tissue.
Is it illegal to break the sound barrier?
It is against the law. Breaking the sound barrier is illegal in the United States. Federal Aviation Administration regulations are quite clear: "No person may operate a civil aircraft in the United States at an actual flight Mach number greater than 1." except in certain, very limited conditions.
What happens if you break the sound barrier? As this wave front passes an individual, the sudden pressure difference or pressure change creates the “sonic boom” we hear. Anything that exceeds the speed of sound creates a “sonic boom”, not just airplanes.
When was breaking the sound barrier illegal?
Acting like a ship’s wake, it is inaudible on board, but can be disturbing to people below. It is currently illegal to break the sound barrier on US soil, but now the FAA says that as part of its new legislation it wants to ditch the 1973 rules that banned civilian supersonic flights.
Are military sonic booms illegal?
Essentially, that regulation prohibits anyone from operating a civilian aircraft at a flight Mach number greater than 1 from a certain distance from United States land and sea where a boom could reach the United States.
Can the military break the sound barrier?
Now, more than 70 years later, military aircraft can break the conventional barrier and travel at incredible speeds. The images below show the amazing visual effects that occur as military aircraft break the sound barrier and travel faster than sound.
