The two news items on the future of supersonic travel could not be more contradictory. On 24 May, the American manufacturer Aerion was ceasing operations. The company had been working for several years on the development of a new supersonic jet. With 12 seats and flying at Mach 1.4 (1610 km/h)Aerion was to create a revolution in business aviation. Aerion failed because of the impossibility of finding new capital in the economic context of the pandemic.
innovative and creative partners who, like Aerion, continue to push back the boundaries of revolutionary technologies
However, this is a major blow for Boeing. The latter was in fact shareholder at 40% of the company. In a press release, the American aircraft manufacturer states that it will continue " to work with innovative and creative partners such as Aerion, who continue to push back the boundaries of revolutionary technologies" .
Hopes of a supersonic aircraft had barely been dashed by the Aerion announcement. United Airlines has surprisingly stepped up to the plate. At the beginning of June, the company announced that it had agreed tobuy 15 supersonic aircraft from Boom Supersonicwith an option to increase this command to 50 jets. However, the agreement is subject to revision depending on the results of United's safety tests. The agreement also includes an unknown factor: Boom's ability to keep its promises. The company has never built or flown a supersonic aircraft...
United joins Japan Airlines and Virgin Group. The latter have already expressed their interest in the future replacement for Concorde.
London-New York in 3.5 hours
If all air safety conditions are met, the timetable for the future supersonic would be as follows: testing would begin in 2025, with the first test flights in 2026 and the first commercial passengers on board in 2029..
Boom indicates that its supersonic jets will be able to fly from New York to London in just 3.5 hours. Compared with Concorde, the aircraft would also offer greater flight autonomy. This would enable it to link Los Angeles to Sydney in 6 hours 45 minutes. The current flight time is normally 15 hours.
carbon-free and optimised to run on sustainable 100 % fuel
The future supersonic could carry up to 88 passengers at a speed of 1.7 Mach (2,100 km/h). Boom says its jets will be " carbon-free and optimised to run on sustainable 100 % fuel" . However, no details are provided on the types of fuel used or how the aircraft will achieve zero carbon emissions.
" 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 travellers access to a stellar flying experience." said Scott Kirby, CEO of United when the purchase was announced..,
