After United, it seems American Airlines will be the second U.S.-based carrier to go supersonic. American Airlines placed an order of 20 Boom Supersonic Overture supersonic airliners, with options of 40 more. American Airlines has deposited the 20 initial orders.
Since this plane is still in the developmental stage, Boom must meet industry-standard operating, performance and safety requirements and American’s other customary conditions before delivering any Overtures.
Derek Kerr, American’s Chief Financial Officer, 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.”
American Airlines is the third carrier worldwide to order the Boom Supersonic Overture. Aside from United, Japan Airlines also has options for 20 Overtures.
Los Angeles to Honolulu in three hours
With a speed of Mach 1.7 over water, the Overture is seen to fly 65 to 80 passengers from Los Angeles to Honolulu in three hours and Miami to London in under five hours. This will be the fastest commercial airliner once it enters service in approximately 2029. According to its timeline, the Overture should be rolled out in 2025.
However, the question now lies in who will pay the price to fly beyond the speed of sound. Way back in the late 1990s. The cost of a one-way ticket on a Concorde for a trans-Atlantic flight would amount to $6,000 per way. That would mean a whopping $12,000 for a supersonic roundtrip flight. This was during a time when speed was more considered than efficiency. The Concorde only carried a few passengers, but its fuel consumption was excessive.
With today’s technology, it is not far that Boom Supersonic will be able to create a more fuel-efficient supersonic aircraft compared to the Concorde, but not as efficient as today’s commercial airliners. However, I feel it will still serve a particular market, which may be business travelers. These travelers want to get to their meetings and work faster to do more. This will also allow the airlines to add more frequencies for each flight, given the faster turn-around time.
The price of tickets? I guess it would be somewhere near a one-way ticket on board a first-class seat, even more.
Then again, the Overture is still on the “drawing boards” and a whole mock-up still has to be seen.
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