American Airlines has ordered 20 of Boom Supersonic's US$200-million Overture planes, with an option for 40 more.
Boom Supersonic is a Colorado-based start-up leading the development of aircraft that aim to usher in a new era of supersonic commercial air travel, a space left empty since the Concorde stopped flying in 2003.
Building on earlier commitments by United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co., American's deal expands the supersonic start-up's tally to 35 orders and 130 pre-orders and options.
Boom is designing Overture to carry 65 to 80 passengers at speeds of Mach 1.7 over water -- nearly 2,100 km/h. Passengers would be whisked from Los Angeles to Honolulu in three hours, or Miami to London in a little under five hours. The planes will have a range of close to 8,000 km.
The company, which already has a prototype, recently redesigned the jet for better efficiency and reduced noise. But don't get too excited yet - the planes won't begin carrying passengers until at least 2029.
The Concorde wasn't a great commercial success. Only 14 of the pioneering supersonic jets were ever built. Boom's sales have already doubled that, and the company says a new partnership for a militarized version of the supersonic aircraft could potentially represent hundreds of orders.
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