As more people travel in the US, United Airlines now sees an opportunity to look beyond. United Airlines is looking to acquire 15 supersonic aircraft from Boom Supersonic. Boom is a startup that produced supersonic planes that can get you from New York to London in just 3.5 hours. That’s less than 3 hours your typical commercial flight. United also has an option to add 35 aircraft from Boom.
Boom raised $240 million to develop its plane. Unfortunately, United’s supersonic fleet won’t be available any time soon. It is expected to become available to the public by 2029. United will also hold on to its promise to promote sustainability in the coming years. The Overture plane is going to run on sustainable aviation fuel. It means that these modern supersonic planes will produce “net-zero” carbon emissions.
According to United CEO Scott Kirby, “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 travelers access to a stellar flight experience”.
This isn’t the first supersonic plane in history. British Airways announced the retirement of their supersonic plane, Concored on April 10, 2003. Their decision was influenced by business more than anything. Passenger revenue dropped steadily on top of the rising cost of its maintenance.
Concored was faster than the speed of sound traveling at almost 1350 miles per hour. It was introduced in 1976 by British Airways and Air France to the US despite public outcry against the noise that the plane produced.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly for everyone. Buying a Concorde ticket was more expensive than first class. This means that it’s suited mainly for the elite traveler.
Is United’s plan to invest in a supersonic plane a good move? Since the airline industry hasn’t fully recovered yet from the pandemic, is it a good time to make such an investment? Will it find its niche and soon become trendy? Or is it going to suffer the same fate as Concorde?
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