Commercial supersonic flights may no longer be a thing of the past after American-based company Boom Supersonic has confirmed it’s designing a supersonic airliner that’s set to soar the skies before 2030.

Cast your mind back, if you can, to 26 November 2003, when the final Concorde plane flew over Bristol, UK on its final return home. Beneath the beloved tailless aircraft that could reach cruising speeds of up to 2,179 km per hour, crowds of fans gathered in their masses to wave goodbye to a cultural icon of aviation.

Now, some 20 years later, an American company dubbed the “Son of Concorde” is committed to returning this retired hero to the skies and is set to completely revolutionise the way we travel in the future.

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Boom Supersonic Overture

Boom Supersonic may not yet be a household name much like British Airways or Qantas, but the American company is fast becoming one of the more exciting designers in the aviation space and could be the first company to bring back the Golden Age of travel.

With a state-of-the-art superfactory in North Carolina, the company is set to produce 33 aircraft each year capable of travelling from London to New York in just 3.5 hours – less than half the time it takes a regular aircraft to make the same journey.

Dubbed (rather appropriately) the Overture, the company’s supersonic plane has already completed a successful test flight in controlled conditions and recently received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to exceed Mach 1 during test flights – the first ever of its kind.

Once it’s fully developed, the Overture will cruise at a top speed of Mach 1.7 – twice as fast as today’s commercial aircraft, but a touch shy of Concorde’s supercruise of Mach 2.04 – and will be able to carry up to 80 passengers at a time.

With 130 aircraft already ordered from leading airlines such as American Airlines and United, the company hopes their latest invention will set the new standard of travel.

Why did Concorde stop flying?

Whilst the earlier Concorde planes were retired for a number of reasons – noise pollution, fuel consumption, safety concerns and operating costs – the arrival of Boom Supersonic’s Overture will likely address these issues with modern technological advancements and sustainable practices.

The plane will run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel, a critical innovation in the pursuit of reducing air travel’s high levels of pollution, and represents a clear departure from the traditional fossil fuel dependencies.

The Concorde’s presence in the skies captivated its cult-like followers like nothing else; with elite clientele and limited availability, the Concorde planes represented the cutting edge of travel, capturing people’s imaginations throughout the late 20th century.

If successful, Boom Supersonic’s Overture will herald a new era in aviation, where speed and sustainability go hand in hand, transforming the way we think about air travel and connecting the world faster than ever before.