A new supersonic jet could cut travel time between New York and Israel in half, promising to travel twice as fast as current commercial airliners.
The Overture supersonic plane by Boom Supersonic is claimed to be able fly at Mach 1.7, close to 1400mph, nearly three times the speed of an average commercial plane.
American Airlines announced that they had ordered the first 30 Overture planes, making a non-refundable deposit on the aircraft, which are set to be delivered and operational by 2029, flying long-distance routes such as New York to London and LAX to Hawaii.
When Overture is fully operational, it could cut the travel time on popular routes for Jewish travellers to a fraction of their current duration. London-Tel Aviv for example, could take a little as two hours.
This is the first time since Concorde that the idea supersonic travel has been reconsidered, and the Overture promises far fewer emissions than the joint BA/Airfrance venture.
Derek Kerr, CFO of American Airlines said: “Looking to the future, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to deliver for our customers."We are excited about how Boom will shape the future of travel both for our company and our customers.”
The jets have also been ordered by United Airlines and Japan Airlines as well as Boom supersonic announcing they plan to make a military version of the jet for defence contractor Northrop Grumman.