United Airlines buys 15 supersonic aircraft from Boom for 3 billion – Aviation

United Airlines will dive into the potential supersonic travel market with Boom Technology’s first Overture aircraft order in the hopes that business travelers will be willing to pay more for faster transoceanic flights.

The airline will buy 15 supersonic aircraft, which are expected to begin carrying passengers in 2029, according to a statement released Thursday. At $ 200 million per plane, the deal is valued at $ 3 billion at fixed prices, Boom is not offering any discounts, according to company founder and CEO Blake Scholl. United also has the ability to purchase 35 more aircraft.

United Airlines hopes to debut Overture, which can accommodate up to 88 people. According to Mike Leskinen, vice president of development for the company, Mike Leskinen, the business tourism company’s coastal hubs make these planes “uniquely useful.” Although supersonic flights are banned over U.S. soil, United hopes to be able to establish a three and a half hour connection from Newark, New Jersey to London and a six hour connection from San Francisco to Tokyo.

“This is of paramount importance to a large proportion of our top-class customers,” said Leskinen. “We are closely monitoring flights from New York to London as a first service, and we will be evaluating opportunities beyond that.”

Boom is grappling with the aviation and financial challenges needed to bring back commercial supersonic flight for the first time since Concorde’s demise in 2003, and a bumpy ride awaits. The company has raised $ 250 million so far, but Scholl said the development costs needed to implement Overture’s first flight are projected to be $ 8 billion.

The Denver commuter company announced a deal with United less than a month after the collapse of Aerion Corp., which already had $ 11 billion in supersonic aircraft orders. But on May 21, the company said it was unable to obtain the funding it needed to proceed with the deal.

cash advance

For Boom, the deal with United marks the first time a buyer has made a cash advance for a carbon fiber Overture. Boom said Japan Airlines and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group have already pre-ordered the plane, which gives them the option to purchase the plane.

United are confident that Boom is moving “from point A to point B to point C” in Overture’s development, Leskinen said. The Chicago carrier declined to discuss the financial details of the order.

According to a December report compiled by UBS Group analyst Miles Walton, the market for new supersonic aircraft could reach $ 160 billion by 2040. The extra speed may be too attractive for business travelers, but prices may be too high for some, Walton said.

At sea level, the speed of sound is 1,223 kilometers per hour. According to Boom, Overture jets will fly at around 2,000 kilometers per hour, or Mach 1.7, twice the speed of conventional jets. The cruising altitude of 60,000 feet (over 18,000 meters) will be higher than most other commercial vehicles. Like the Concorde, the plane will only break the sound barrier over the oceans.

“I have made a series of business trips to the United States that I can turn into day trips and return in the late afternoon to see my children,” Leskin said. “It will open up the same opportunity for Western Europe.”

Concorde cost

The Concorde flew for 27 years until 2003, flying over the Atlantic at Mach 2, or more than 2,400 kilometers per hour. But due to its insatiable appetite for fuel and high maintenance costs, only two carriers – Air France and British Airways – regularly operated the plane, and fewer than two dozen were built. Overture’s job will be 75% cheaper, Scholl said.

Last year, Boom announced a partnership with Rolls-Royce to develop the Overture powertrain, reusing some of the British manufacturer’s technology. The aircraft will be optimized to operate on 100% environmentally friendly fuel and zero carbon emissions, United said.