Are Supersonic Commercial Flights Back in Business?

SST, or supersonic transport, also called a supersonic airliner, describes a supersonic airplane for the transportation of passengers at a very high speed – more significant than the speed of the sound. So far it has been two airplanes that could do this – Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144. While Tupolev’s last flight of this kind was in 1978, Concorde’s last flight was in 2003. However, many airlines are discussing making this kind of transportation live again by organizing supersonic commercial flights.

The possibilities of this kind of transportation are numerous, especially in a glamourous type of tourism. An ideal change as a part of in-flight entertainment – booking a supersonic flight and flying to some country to taste local beverages and foods and then heading to widely known casinos to try out online slots real money paycheck. The costly technological jump of supersonic flights could quickly maximize their profits by trying unconventional sort of tourism.

Affordable to Masses

Even though a flight by a supersonic aircraft sounds very expensive and luxurious, it would be affordable to the masses. A couple of weeks ago, US company United Airlines announced that it has already made a deal with the Boom Supersonic, a company from Denver, to purchase 15 supersonic planes still under construction.

As they claimed from Boom Supersonic company, they are using technology used in well-known Concorde aircraft, so they are not starting from scratch. The very first jetliner is called Overture, and if everything goes by its plans, it should get permission to fly in 2029 and to take the very first commercial flight in 2030.

Obstacles

Sounds like a very ambitious plan since we all know that development stages could take decades or even more in technology. So, what are the more significant obstacles that we need to solve in a relatively short period?

The most outstanding teacher in this field is Concorde and its problems in commercial flights – first of all, the sonic boom. Because of the very high speed, there is always the speed of sound threshold. Then, there is excellent fuel consumption and a considerable carbon footprint connected with it. If it stays the way it was in Concorde, it would be more devastating for nature and with the climate changes we are all witnesses to, this is a big NO.

Usually, supersonic jets have limited space, so it would be hard to sell enough tickets to make it profitable. And in the end – regulatory approvals. Since this is something not practised at the moment, the question is – when and would governments approve these flights?

What does Boom Supersonic say?

The jet would be for 40 to 50 passengers, and it would use biofuel – sustainable fuel already used in some US liners and has 80 percent fewer carbon emissions. As far as the noise concerns, with the new technology, it would be cut down to the sound of the vacuum cleaner!

However, Japan is the other country where they test this kind of transportation, and they claim no nation can make it on its own since it takes enormous technology development and money.