The Return of Supersonic Commercial Aviation? A Renewed Quest
For decades after the retirement of the iconic Concorde in 2003, the dream of affordable supersonic passenger travel seemed relegated to the history books. However, a new wave of aerospace companies is working feverishly to bring supersonic flight back to the skies in the coming years — if they can overcome the formidable technical, economic and regulatory challenges.
Leading the charge is Boom Supersonic, a startup that has drawn significant investment and scored a major coup by announcing orders and options for 60 of its upcoming Overture supersonic airliners from United Airlines. The Overture is designed to cruise at Mach 1.7 over water, slashing trans-oceanic flight times, while meeting the latest noise and emissions standards. Boom aims for the first Overture passenger flights by 2029 if development and certification stay on schedule.
Another company making waves is Aerion Corporation, which has been developing the AS2 — a supersonic business jet targeting a cruise speed of Mach 1.4. Before unfortunately entering insolvency in 2021, Aerion had secured key partnerships with NASA, major suppliers like GE Aviation and Boeing, and interest from industry players like Berkshire Hathaway. Other startups like Spike Aerospace and Hermeus are also pursuing supersonic business jet concepts.
