They will be able to fly over the sea at a speed of Mach 1.7, twice what the fastest commercial aircraft can achieve today.
They are the Overture aircraft, a new generation of supersonic aircraft that aspire to fill the void left in the air market by the departure of the mythical Concorde.
This Tuesday, the US airline American Airlines announced an agreement with Boom Supersonic, the manufacturer of the Overture, to acquire 20 of these aircraft, although with an option to acquire an additional 40.
American Airlines assured that it hopes to have the largest supersonic commercial fleet in the world with which it hopes fly from Miami to London in less than five hours or from Los Angeles to Honolulu in just three hours.
This airline is not, however, the first to acquire this model, since in June 2021 United Airlines signed an agreement with Boom to buy 15 units, with the option of an additional 35.
Commercial supersonic flights in the world were suspended in 2003when the last Concorde in service stopped operating, which was withdrawn for security reasons, after on July 25, 2000 a ship of this type suffered an accident at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris that cost him his life to 113 people.
Supersonic and sustainable?
The Overture will be designed to carry between 65 and 80 passengers with a range of about 7,800 kilometers.
According to its manufacturer, the four-engine aircraft will be able to operate on more than 600 lucrative routes around the world.
Boom claims to have incorporated environmental sustainability criteria into its design, which is why its objective is that its flights are zero carbon emissions.
This is a complex issue as the air transport industry is criticized for being one of the most polluting.
Faced with this challenge, the company claims to be carrying out an exhaustive search among sustainable fuel projects for aircraft with a view to solving the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.
For now, they say, the best fuel of this type on the market offers an 80% reduction in CO2 in its life cycle compared to conventional fuel.
The manufacturer has teamed up with the company Prometheus Fuels, which they say has a process that allows it to create sustainable fuel from CO2 in the air.
Boom Supersonic claims that the Overture’s fuselage and wings are designed to optimize airflow, reducing drag and increasing fuel efficiency.
Technologically, supersonic flight is not difficult to achieve. The challenge is to offer a service that passengers can pay for and that is less polluting.
The Overture is scheduled to launch in 2025, but it’s not expected to start carrying passengers until 2029.
It remains to be seen whether by then it has managed to meet its ambitious goals and if it manages to fill the void left by Concorde.