Over a decade after the Concorde made its last transatlantic flight, a number of companies are working on the next generation of supersonic passenger aircraft capable of speeds at least twice as fast as current commercial planes.
These planes will likely first appear in the private and business jet market.
It's the "corporate jets and the very rich who would value the speed and pay a high price," said Andrew Goldberg, CEO of Metropolis Group, an investment firm with expertise in the aerospace sector.
At least two companies are currently working on such planes.
Reno, Nevada, based Aerion is developing a $110 million, 12-passenger business jet capable of hitting Mach 1.6 -- or over 1,200 miles per hour. That's roughly twice as fast as the $65 million Gulfstream G650, and would cut the travel time between New York and London from seven hours to just over four.
"There's a business case and a demand for this," said Jeff Miller, Aerion's head of marketing and communication. "People want to get places faster."
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It will not work. The only reason the Concord came to being is because the U.S. threatened to dominate with the S.S.T.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bluff to goad the French into spending huge sums for a losing product.
To go supersonic requires huge amounts of fuel and vary low weight which means that the passenger capacity is very small.
I found out this morning while en route to Wal Mart that people want to get places faster.At a time when we need to slow down and ponder the consequences of our actions all we can think about is getting from point A to point B faster.
ReplyDeleteBring it. I hope it flies out of SBY
ReplyDelete