US United Airlines - plans to launch supersonic airliner by 2029 since Concorde

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

米ユナイテッド、２９年までに超音速旅客機を投入する計画　コンコルド以来

2021.06.04 Fri posted at 10:53 JST

 ニューヨーク（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 米ユナイテッド航空は４日までに、新興メーカーのブーム・スーパーソニックから超音速機１５機を購入する契約を発表した。２０２９年までに旅客を乗せた運航を行う計画。

ユナイテッドがこの計画を実行できれば、超音速旅客機「コンコルド」が０３年に退役して以来、初の超音速商用飛行となる。

コンコルドは燃費効率が悪く、ソニックブーム（衝撃音）を出す速度での陸地上空の飛行に制限がかけられたこともあり、退役に追い込まれた。運賃は従来の航空機のファーストクラスを大幅に上回っており、航空会社は高額料金を支払う意欲のある乗客で客室を埋めなくてはならなかった。

ブーム・スーパーソニックは米デンバーに拠点を置く株式非公開の新興航空機メーカー。「オーバーチュア」と名付けられた同社の超音速機は２５年までに完成する予定で、２６年までに試験飛行、２９年までに旅客運航の実施を見込む。

同機の速度は現在の商用機の約２倍となるマッハ１．７に達する見通し。ニュージャージー州ニューアークにあるユナイテッドのハブ空港から英ロンドンまでをわずか３時間半で結ぶことが可能となる。ニューアークから独フランクフルトまでは４時間、米サンフランシスコから東京までは６時間となる。

ブーム社はオーバーチュアをめぐり、持続可能な燃料（ＳＡＦ）のみで運航する目標も掲げる。実現すれば、就航時から二酸化炭素（ＣＯ２）排出量を実質ゼロに抑える初の航空機となる。

Translation

2021.06.04 Fri posted at 10:53 JST

 New York (CNN Business) – The United Airlines (UA) announced on the 4th a contract to purchase 15 supersonic aircrafts from a emerging maker the Boom Supersonic, and planned to transport passengers by 2029.

If the UA could carry out this plan, it would be the first supersonic commercial flight since the supersonic airliner "Concorde" that was retired in 2003.

Concorde was forced to retire due to poor fuel efficiency and restrictions on air flight speed over land for producing a sonic boom (impact sound). Fares were significantly higher than the first class of traditional aircrafts, and airlines had to fill their cabins with passengers who were willing to pay higher fares.

Boom Supersonic was a privately held emerging aircraft manufacturer based in Denver, USA. The company's supersonic aircraft, named "Overture," was scheduled to be completed by 2025, with test flights expected by 2026 and passenger operations implemented by 2029.

The speed of the aircraft was expected to reach Mach 1.7, which was about twice that of the current commercial aircraft. It would be possible to connect from UA's hub airport in Newark, NJ to London of England in just three and a half hours. It would take 4 hours from Newark to Frankfurt of Germany, and 6 hours from San Francisco to Tokyo.

Boom Supersonic had also set a goal of operating Overture on sustainable fuel (SAF) only. If realized, it could be the first aircraft to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to virtually zero from the time of service.

              So, it is good news for those travelers who can afford to pay money to save traveling time.