Flying from New York to London could soon take a mere three hours after a huge investment in a startup which is building a plane faster than the Concorde.
Denver startup Boom Supersonic is recreating a new and improved supersonic jetliner.
Last month the startup announced that it is backed by Japan Airlines with a $10 million investment along with knowledge and experience as an airline to help with the design and passenger experience. In exchange the Japanese airlines will have the option to purchase twenty aircrafts from Boom.
The supersonic jetliner that the company is developing will be a 55-seat plane which will be capable of flying long distance routes in half the time that a regular jetliner can. The flight time from London to New York will be approximately three hours.
The company also claimed that the aircraft will be faster, quieter and more affordable than the old fashioned supersonic jet, the concorde. It is expected that Boom’s aircraft will produce a sonic boom that will be 30 times quieter and have significantly lower operating costs and fuel consumption. It is expected that it will be able to reach speeds of Mach 2.2, 10% faster than the Concorde.
According to Boom’s estimations, ticket prices will be 70% lower than what airlines charged for the concorde flights and they will be equivalent to current business class tickets for regular jetliners. Boom stated that improved fuel efficiency is the factor that will make that possible.
Boom has already managed to raise roughly $41 million in funding and have already attracted key investors such as Sam Altman and Paul Graham as well as venture capital firms including 8VC, RRE and Lightbank. The company aims to release its jetliner into the market by the mid 2020’s.
