BOOM: United signs up for a supersonic plane that may never get off the ground

Reuters and others are reporting that United is the first USA airline to sign a purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic for the purchase of their proposed faster-than-the-speed-of-sound jet.

United is said to have signed up for the purchase of 15, with options on another 35.

Interiors look pretty, and make the Concord seats look like those of a model T Ford!

It’s hard to tell from the renderings, but this Boom Overture supersonic jet is twice as long as a 737 @ 205 ft. A Boeing 737 is only 95 ft long.

The aircraft will have a capacity of between 65 and 88 passengers and can travel at altitudes up to 60,000 ft, with a range of 4,250 nautical miles (4,888 miles). It can travel at 1.7 Mach – about twice the speed of most other jets with the same range. So basically it could cut long haul travel times roughly in half. Think Los Angeles to Sydney in 8.5 hours, compared to 14.5. Now if only they could cut the check-in and immigration time as well.

Don’t hold your breath, because these 100% sustainable aviation fuel, with 0 carbon emissions jets won’t be ready until at least 2029.

The whole plane project won’t even have a prototype until 2025, with the first flight scheduled for 2026, and then another 3 years before commercial delivery to United in 2029.

A lot can change in that time, as we discovered back in 2019/20 when COVID-19 hit, and the aircraft industry basically died!

Anyway – enjoy the video below, at least the sound track might make you believe that this will indeed happen.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.