Concorde was retired in 2003, and along with it went the chance of a sub-4hr flight across the Atlantic.
In it’s time it was the height of air travel. Flying at Mach 2.02, Supersonic flight was commercially available (to some) for 27 years. (Even if those flights were transoceanic only due to sonic booms over the ground).
Yet for the last 19 years we have went backwards with air travel. Since its retirement no competitors emerged, no alternatives appeared. Largely due to industry developments favouring cheaper airline tickets.
Now, start-ups such as “Boom Supersonic” in partnership with United Airways have brought this relic back to the present.
Flying in 2029 and flying purely on 100% sustainable aviation fuels the Boom ‘Overture’ airliner will carry 45-55 passengers at speeds faster than sound whilst being a net-zero carbon emitter.
Is that just the beginning though?
Will what was started in 1969 with the advent of supersonic flight be beaten by start-ups such as Hermeus and Venus Aerospace?
These companies are only two who are aiming to bring Hypersonic speeds to the air. Mach 2 meant a 3.5hour Atlantic flight but Mach 5? Flying at 3,900mph makes that London to New York trip an easy 90 minutes journey.
Hermes have a roadmap which promises deadlines by 2022, 2023, 2025 and their final part of that fully usable, commercial passenger aircraft by 2029.
Can it make that roadmap? Are the general public ready to pay, and sit on hypersonic flights?
"Whether it is supersonic or hypersonic, these airliners, combined with sustainable fuels are at the forefront of the industry, changing it for the better from speed to sustainability." Shivvy Jervis
