United Airlines might be purchasing 15 jets from Boom Supersonic later this decade. It aims to bring back supersonic travel with a plane that has yet to be built.
The startup company, in order to recuperate the supersonic passenger jet industry, announced an agreement with United Airlines.
The airline said on Thursday – once the company designs a plane that is faster, safe and meets environmental standards – given the option to produce 35 more.
However, United did not disclose the terms and conditions of the contract. This also includes the number of funds required for the deal.
Boom on the other hand has raised $240 million in this huge venture. This announcement and press coverage will further help them raise more funds.
It has been nearly two decades since the last flight of the supersonic Concorde. These planes were used by British Airways and Air France in 1976 to zip passengers in luxury across the Atlantic.
The last one was retired in 2003 when an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel shortly after takeoff from Paris. It killed everyone on board and four people on the ground.
This incident, high operational and maintenance costs led to the shutting down of the Concorde.
Hence, Boom is working on a plane it calls Overture. It states that – it will be the first supersonic airliner to fly on so-called sustainable fuel.
The Denver company said the planes will be capable of speeds up to 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 1,300 mph.
It will be slower than the Concorde but much faster than current airliners.
United said one can travel between London and the New York area in just three and a half hours. It will also take only six hours to Tokyo from San Francisco.
