United Airlines has announced that they plan to buy 15 supersonic planes that can fly at 1,300mph and will be able to cut the time it takes to fly from New York to London in half, down to 3.5 hours. The jets will be powered by 100 percent sustainable fuel.
The deal with Boom Supersonic, a company based in Denver, Colorado, involves the purchase of 15 “Overture” aircraft, with an option to possibly buy another 35 planes. The planes are expected to be rolled out in 2025, take flight in 2026, and start carrying passengers in 2029 - that's 26 years after Concorde stopped flying.
“Among the many future potential routes for United are Newark to London in just three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours. Overture will also be designed with features such as in-seat entertainment screens, ample personal space, and contactless technology.”
United Airlines said Overture will use 100 per cent sustainable fuel and is expected to be the first large commercial aircraft that will be net-zero carbon from day one of flying. Sustainable aviation fuel is made from waste and plants.
“We are really confident in the future,” say United. “Aerospace takes a long time to innovate. And so if you don’t start setting these opportunities out now, you will have missed them.”
United and Boom didn’t reveal the cost of the planes, but the pricing should be similar to a new Boeing 787, so that's from $248m to $338m.
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