The American company Boom Supersonic, which is preparing the return of aircraft flights beyond the speed of sound, has just received a large order from American Airlines.
After United Airlines, it’s American Airlines’ turn to fill Boom Supersonic’s order book by advancing funds for the purchase of 20 supersonic aircraft Overture, with an option for 40 additional aircraft. The American company intends to develop the spiritual successor of Concorde with planes that can reach almost twice the speed of sound.
The United States, the next leaders of supersonic aircraft?
After the failure of the Concorde, the operation of which was stopped dead in 2003, the Europeans seem to have drawn a line under supersonic aircraft. Although technically impressive, the Concorde was never profitable and its downfall was precipitated by the fatal accident which claimed the lives of 113 people in July 2000 during take-off from Roissy-Charles-de- Gaulle.
Today, several companies are working on the return of supersonic aircraft, but this time under the American flag. The company Boom Supersonic has not yet built prototypes of its future aircraft, but its first simulations which have sufficiently excited the big names in aviation to fill its order book. In June 2021, United Airlines placed an order for 15 planes, before being joined this year by American Airlines.
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Test flights are not expected to arrive until 2026, with a first commercial flight to begin in 2029. The jets Overture of Boom can carry between 65 and 80 passengers. The company will obviously not manufacture these planes alone, but with the help of many players in the industry like eaton, Collins Aerospace or Safran Landing.
Twice as fast as a Boeing, but slower than the Concorde
On the speed side, the jet Overture of Boom promises a speed of up to Mach 1.7 (about 2100 km/h), almost twice the speed of sound which is about 1224 km/h. For comparison, it’s twice as fast as airliners that go between 830 and 930 km/h. An impressive speed, therefore, but which remains lower than that of the Concorde which was capable of flying up to Mach 2.04.
Concretely, this would allow Boom’s supersonic plane to fly from Miami to London in just 5 hours, compared to 9 hours today. The aircraft manufacturer also ensures that the engines of its aircraft should be powered by a sustainable fuel developed from biomass such as waste oils, carbon dioxide or even green hydrogen generated from renewable electrical energy. This would allow theOverture to emit 80% less CO2 than aircraft that currently run on kerosene.
Boom still has everything to prove, but the 130 orders already placed for a total of approximately 26 billion dollars should allow the company to calmly develop its projects for the years to come.
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Supersonic aircraft: after the Concorde, this company fills its order book