American Airlines agreed on Tuesday to purchase up to 20 Overture jets from aircraft manufacturer Boom Supersonic, claiming that the jets would substantially halve the duration of long-haul flights over water.
Still in construction, the Overture is anticipated to achieve speeds of Mach 1.7, or over 1,300 mph, doubling the speed of existing commercial planes and reducing the flight time between Miami and London from almost nine hours to five.
American Airlines, which also has the option to acquire 40 further Overture jets, placed an undisclosed, non-refundable deposit on the first 20 aircraft, each of which will transport between 65 and 80 people upon their 2029 launch.
Neither the corporation nor the aircraft manufacturer would disclose the financial terms of the agreement, including the amount of American’s deposit.
American becomes the second U.S. client for Boom, after United Airlines’ statement last year that it would purchase at least 15 of the aircraft.
It has been almost 20 years since the final supersonic passenger flight by Concorde, a British-French aircraft that failed to gain popularity due to the expensive cost of trips, which were around $12,000 round-trip from New York to London.
Boom CEO Blake Scholl claims his company’s jet will be unique, with tickets costing between $4,000 and $5,000 for a three-hour flight from New York to London.
Scholl told Reuters that tens of millions of passengers annually travel in business class on routes where Overture would provide a significant speed boost, and airlines will be able to do it financially.
Given that the aircraft is not planned to transport its first passengers until 2029, American spokesman Matt Miller deemed it premature to discuss ticket costs.
According to Boom, the Overture initiative will cost between $6 and $8 billion. The jet has a list price of $200 million, but other manufacturers often provide airlines substantial discounts, and American has not said how much it intends to spend.
Boom’s ambitious timeline has been questioned by skeptics, particularly in light of the many years it took Boeing, an established manufacturer, to obtain jets or even retrofits to planes certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
In addition, Boom does not have a confirmed engine manufacturer. It is in communication with Rolls Royce and others. Boom’s four-engine Overture jet can transport passengers from Miami to London in less than five hours, slashing the almost nine-hour travel time between the two cities by nearly half.
The flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu is expected to take about three hours, compared to roughly six hours on conventional aircraft.
The era of regular commercial supersonic flights looked to have come to an end in 2003, when Air France and British Airways withdrew the Concorde after 27 years of operation.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. agreed to purchase 15 Boom Overture aircraft on the condition that they satisfy specific safety, operational, and environmental conditions. Tuesday’s deal between American Airlines also included a similar requirement.
Environmentalists have criticized supersonic flights for using more fuel per passenger than equivalent subsonic planes.
Boom’s Greensboro, North Carolina facility will roll out the Overture jet in 2025, followed by test flights in 2026.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, condemned the agreement, stating that the airline should instead concentrate on decreasing the cancellations and delays that have plagued its operations this year.
There will be supersonic cancellations if there are no adjustments to way management schedules this airline and its pilots, said APA spokesman Dennis Tajer.
According to FlightAware, American has struggled this summer, canceling more than 9,300 flights since June 1 – more than twice the cancellations at United, Delta, or Southwest.
“Investing in today’s functioning should be the main emphasis of management,” stated Tajer.
Last month, Boom unveiled modifications to the plane’s architecture that would make it easier to construct and less costly to maintain.
Three engines, including a different kind on the tail, were replaced with four identical engines under the delta-shaped wings.
Boom described Overture as a “economically and ecologically sustainable supersonic airplane” at the Farnborough International Airshow.