United Boom Supersonic

United to Buy Boom Supersonic Jets

Sam Chui·
Aviation NewsBoomUnited

United Airlines today announced a commercial agreement with Boom Supersonic to add supersonic aircraft to their global fleet. The carrier announced Thursday that they are buying 15 planes from Boom Supersonic, with the option to purchase 35 more.

Boom’s first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, has not been built or certified yet. It is targeting the start of passenger service in 2029, with a plane that could fly at Mach 1.7 and cut some flight times in half. This means that a flight from New York to London, typically lasting seven hours, would only take around 3½ hours.

Once operational, Overture is expected to be the first large commercial aircraft to be net-zero carbon from day one; being optimized to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029. United and Boom will also work together to accelerate production of greater supplies of SAF.

“Boom’s vision for the future of commercial aviation, combined with the industry’s most robust network in the world, will give business and leisure travellers access to a stellar flight experience.”

United CEO Scott Kirby

United vice president of corporate development, Mike Leskinen, said the Overture could dramatically alter some of the airline’s busiest international routes. “If we can cut the time to fly from the East Coast of the US to certain cities in Europe and do it with lower emissions, we think that’s very attractive” he said.

a jet flying in the sky

The Denver-based Boom Supersonic was founded in 2014, raising $270 million in capital, and has grown to 150 employees. For founder and CEO Blake Scholl, landing a firm order with a legacy airline validates his vision of bringing back supersonic flights.

“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” Scholl said in a statement.

Boom plans to make its first flight later this year with a demonstrator jet called the XB-1. If it goes as planned, Boom will begin production of the Overture in 2023 and conduct its first flight in 2026. The ultimate hurdle will be winning certification by regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration.

The supersonic Concorde flew commercial flights from 1976 until October 2003.

Sam Chui

Sam Chui is one of the world's most established aviation and travel blogger, content creator and published author. He enjoys anything related to aviation and travel. His fascination with airplanes stemmed from visiting Kai Tak airport as a teenager. He has spent some of the happiest times of his life in the air.

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4 Responses

  1. There are so many “if’s” with this “purchase”. The plane has not been built. Will it be built? Who knows? United also ordered the Concorde. They never took one. However assuming all the “if’s” are met and United actually does start flying them, how many premium-heavy routes are there that would operate profitably?

    Personally, this seems like a stunt.

    Reply

  2. i wish them all the best, and I yearn for the return of supersonic flight however the first thing I thought when I read this was it smells like one of those press releases that the bloke from ryanair makes – anything to get your face on the front page.

    Reply

  3. Very and i mean VERY surprising that the first backer airline is American? UNITED ,who would have thought! Well Boom is American so they like to back their own unlike Concorde that was European!
    BIAS??ANYONE…….Made damn sure it was hard to fly Concorde anywhere over the USA or to it as they could not make one at the time! SOUR GRAPES ,thats the truth in it not the noise they bang on about!

    There is 2 other companies coming up with ideas for production? IS their a MARKET PLACE FOR IT ALL?? Nope!

    I think only one brand will make a plane and that will be BOOM and i think there is only room for a handful of airlines for this niche product! Surprised NO interest yet from any of the big Arabic Airline players??/ BA?? Virgin?? I think 10 airlines would fill the market easily and that all depends on how many each they are buying!

    Be nice to see another Mach2 bird flying and the Boom even so smaller looks a nice job but i still feel MASS travel is the winner! Could be successful if MARKETED right and to the right routes and not own too many of the plane type etc. Lets wait and see how we get out of this aviation crisis first i say!

    Reply

    1. The real nail in the coffin for the Concorde was its sky high operating costs from massive fuel consumption and cramped quarters that could not carry the same number of passengers as subsonic narrow and especially wide body jets even back then. As a result, it was much more expensive to operate on the same routes as subsonic jetliners from day one. The Concorde could carry anywhere between 92 to 120 Passengers in a 202 feet length in the 1970s while a DC9 and 737-200 of that same era or earlier could carry the same number of passengers in a much shorter length. Longer narrowbodies of the same time period like the 707 and DC8 could carry around 180 passengers in a length still shorter than the Concorde. Widebodies of the 1970s like the 747, L-1011 Tristar, and DC-10 could carry at least double to usually triple or more the number of passengers with a similar range as the Concorde. I suspect this Boom jet will be relegated to transoceanic crossings just like the Concorde in the end, and any major downturn in the aviation industry after service entry will likely result in a mass retirement of the jet. The Concorde got retired in a double whammy of a fatal crash in 2000 followed by returning to service in a massive aviation downturn ensuing from the events of September 11th 2001. Operating the Concorde after that double-whammy just became too much. Increasing environmental awareness of aviation’s impact in the 1970s also damaged Concorde’s sales potential as well, and that awareness is even more prevalent now.

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