American Airlines announces supersonic flight in 2029

United Airlines has announced plans to buy 15 supersonic aircraft and return to speed in 2029.

Supersonic flights ended in 2003 when British Airlines and Air France stopped flying Concorde aircraft.

United's purchase of the Overture aircraft will be made by a company called Boom of America.

The boom has not yet flown a test flight of the aircraft.

United's purchase agreement only applies if the aircraft meets safety standards.

What is a supersonic flight?

If the speed of the plane is faster than the speed of sound, it is called supersonic flight.

This means traveling at an altitude of 60,000 feet faster than 1,060 kilometers per hour.

Aircraft typically fly at altitudes of up to 900 kilometers per hour, but boom boats are expected to fly at 1,122 kilometers per hour.

At that speed, the flight time from New York to London is said to be reduced by half.

According to Boom, the flight time will be 3.5 hours, which is three hours less than the current flight time.

Concorde, which began flying in 1976, had a speed of 2,180 kilometers per hour.

What are the challenges?

The two main challenges of supersonic flight are noise and pollution.

Flying faster than sound, it sounds like a big explosion called a sonic boom on the ground.

The name of the company is based on that.

As a result, the planes cannot fly in all areas. Generally, these planes have to fly at low speeds keeping people in mind while on the ground.

Boom said his plane made no louder noise than other planes when it took off, landed, and landed.

He says he's trying for a softer sonic boom than Concord's.

Another big problem is the need for fuel.

"It takes a lot of energy to go at supersonic speeds, it takes a lot of fuel," said Kathy Savitt, Boom's chief commercial officer.

But she expected the overture to be a zero-carbon aircraft.

Is Supersonic Travel Long?

Boom said its aircraft would use environmentally friendly fuel.

The fuel can be made from animal waste or from a specially produced energy crop. Guy Gratton explains.

But according to him, such fuel is not being produced in sufficient quantity now.

Boom says technologies such as generating liquid energy from the air can supply insufficient fuel.

Is there a demand for supersonic travel?

The Concorde, which was developed 50 years ago with a lot of investment, is said to have been profitable for British Airlines in its last years of operation.

Concorde's journey was considered a luxury because it was twice as expensive as any other flight.

Nowadays, the rich prefer to travel by private plane. Gratton says.

According to him, it is easier to travel without waiting at the airport of one's choice by renting a small private plane than flying in the first class of commercial flight.

Boom's study found that people want to travel faster and that even if they sell tickets at a regular rate compared to Concorde, Overture will be profitable.

The ticket price will be set by United, but it will certainly seek a profit from the  200 million it pays per aircraft.