Boom Supersonic’s Overture promises to double speeds of commercial planes
Most travel between the U.S. and U.K. has been shut down for more than a year. As we anticipate the addition of the U.S. to the U.K.’s green list this summer, United Airlines is looking to make up for lost time. The airline announced Thursday it had committed to purchasing 15 of Boom Supersonic’s Overture airliners, with the option to buy another 35. With test flights by 2026 and passenger flights by 2029, Overture promises to be able to fly at Mach 1.7, twice the speed of current commercial airplanes.
This would allow connections between United’s hub in Newark with London in 3.5 hours, a time not seen since the Concorde made the journey from New York to London in less than 3 hours. The Overture could carry passengers from Newark to Frankfurt, a major gateway for continental Europe, in 4 hours. Over the Pacific, it could make the journey from San Francisco to Tokyo in 6 hours.
Overture promises to not just be fast, it will be comfortable, with in-seat entertainment, plenty of leg room, and contactless technology for 65 to 88 passengers. Most importantly, it will be ecofriendly, using sustainable aviation fuel to power net-zero emissions.
“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. “United and Boom share a common purpose—to unite the world safely and sustainably. At speeds twice as fast, United passengers will experience all the advantages of life lived in person, from deeper, more productive business relationships to longer, more relaxing vacations to far-off destinations.”
After more than a year of being cut off from large swaths of the world, it’s heartening to think that by the end of the decade you can cross the pond in the span of a long movie without expanding your carbon footprint.
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