Startup Boom Supersonic is developing a 55-seat plane which it claims will be able to more than halve the flight time from San Francisco to Washington DC to just two-and-a-half hours. The company is aiming for commercial entry by 2023.
Boom’s airliner enables fares 75% lower than Concorde, about the same price as today’s business class tickets.
In June the Lee Gardner amendment was passed in the Senate to allow overland supersonic flight.
“Both the House and Senate versions of the FAA re-authorization bill have very positive language on supersonics. The senate bill in particular would repeal the speed limit,” Scholl added.
Passage seems likely in 2018.
Boom is aiming for entry into the market by 2023 and is looking for a site big enough to produce 100 planes a year.
So far there has been 76 pre-orders including 10 options to buy from Virgin Atlantic.
The average length of flight from Paris to New York would drop to three-and-a half-hours from seven hours when the full airliner flies. This would utilize its full Mach 2.2 speed.
The plane comes with two configurations of either 55 business class seats, or 15 business with 30 first-class seats on longer flights. The plane would have a list price to customers of $200 million.
A business class ticket from London to New York is estimated by the company at $5,000.
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Another new innovative American company comming up with great new product.
I would love to see a new Supersonic jet either in the business catagory or commercial in size but I do not buy, for a minute that this company will have any chance to “enter the market” by 2023, thats five years…impossible. If they ever dreamed to achieve full flight testing and certification by 2023 they would need to be almost rolling that prototype off the assembly line in about, oh, 18 hours. I wish them the best and if they can make sustained supersonic flight economic in such a small plane, I give them my kudos. 45 or 55 seats doesnt give you any margain for NOT filling even one seat ever and I suspect that those fares would be substantially higher than”75% off Concorde fares.
Technology for a business model that doesn’t exist…
Most domestic business class seats are filled with free upgrades for frequent flyers.