The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Supersonic commercial planes that cut travel time by half are on the way as United Airlines has signed to purchase 15 new supersonic Overture planes from the Denver-based Boom Technologies.
The Overture is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and start carrying passengers by 2029.
This supersonic plane will fly at twice the speed of today’s fastest airliners. It will be the first commercial aircraft to be net-zero carbon from day one, optimized to run on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The first versions of the plane will be 205 feet long, carry 65 to 88 passengers, and cruise at a speed of Mach 1.7 at height of 60,000 feet.
The Overture plane will feature in-seat entertainment screens, ample personal space, and contactless technology.
But there is a problem. The planes will have the range of 8,300 km and all seats will be business class!
United Airlines said it could buy additional 35 planes.
The airlines says the new supersonic plane will cover Newark to London in just three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours.
“The world’s first purchase agreement for net-zero carbon supersonic aircraft marks a significant step toward our mission to create a more accessible world,” said Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO.
The Concorde was the first supersonic which started operations in the 1970s. But the high cost of environmental restrictions on sonic booms and the crash of Air France Flight 4590 from Paris to New York in July 2000 killing 113 people grounded the Concorde.
