American Airlines has agreed to buy 20 supersonic planes that can fly from London to Miami in just five hours - but you’ll need to wait a while before you can book yourself a seat as they’re not set to launch until 2029.
The airline has slapped down a non-refundable deposit with manufacturer Boom Supersonic for the 20 planes called the Overture, becoming the third airline to sign up for the new planes.
American Airlines’s chief financial officer Derek Kerr said: “Looking to the future, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to deliver for our customers. We are excited about how Boom will shape the future of travel both for our company and our customers.”
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It’s been almost 20 years since passengers could choose to fly on a supersonic plane, after Concorde bowed out of the market due to the high cost of flights.
However, Boom chief executive Blake Scholl says his company’s plane will be different when it debuts in 2029, with tickets costing about 4,000 US dollars (£3,310) to 5,000 US dollars (£4,140) to fly from New York to London in about three and a half hours.
Scholl: “There are tens of millions of passengers every year flying in business class on routes where Overture will give a big speed-up and airlines will be able to do it profitably.”
The Overture will carry fewer passengers than Concorde did, with just 65 to 88 seats, which will initially be sold at business class rates before the price lowers, with the Boom boss hoping to make supersonic flight ‘actually affordable’.
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Scholl said: “I started this because I was sad that I never got to fly on Concorde. I waited but no one was doing it, so I decided to. Ultimately I want people to be able to get anywhere in the world in five hours for $100 (£83). To get there you have to improve fuel efficiency, but step by step supersonic air travel will become available for everyone. This is supersonic passenger air travel, no bulls**t, and it’s actually affordable.”
Boom says the Overture programme will cost between six billion dollars (£5 billion) and eight billion dollars (£6.6 billion). The plane carries a list price of 200 million dollars (£165 million), although other manufacturers routinely give airlines deep discounts.
As yet, there is no engine manufacturer signed up but Boom is currently in talks with Rolls-Royce and other companies.
Claire Reid