With an infusion of capital from a Saudi Arabia investment fund, the Boom SST is about to take to the skies before its Hawaii flights, which could commence even before the end of this decade.
United Airlines is one of the investors, and there’s talk that Boom SST would be a perfect fit for Hawaiian Airlines too, which currently invests in the Seaglider airplane to shake up interisland travel. With Boom SST, the time between Los Angeles and Honolulu would be two hours. International destinations from Hawaii could also benefit. For example, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo.
Boom said this month it has now received investments totaling more than $700 million towards putting its Overture SST into commercial service in the next six years. The company warned, however, that it may require a total investment of up to $9 billion to get off the ground.
The four-engine Overture aircraft will carry 80 passengers to and from Hawaii and other destinations.
Overture will operate at Mach 1.7, which is slower than its predecessor, Concorde, but more quietly and with greater efficiency. The company CEO hopes that, in the end, ticket prices can be somewhat consistent with current Business fares.
XB-1 will take to the skies in test flight before year’s end.
Boom has been test operating its XB-1 demonstrator plane on the ground, and plans to take to the skies for the first time in December. The plane is a smaller, three-engine one designed to test the technology associated with commercial Overture aircraft.
The testing to date has taken place at Mojave, where speeds up to 108 mph have been achieved. Boom CEO Scholl said that the December test flight is in preparation for next year’s supersonic flight of the demonstrator.
“We’re real darn close. We are on the one-yard line on this program. It’s a really, really exciting time.”
Boom Supersonic
$500 billion investment fund steps in to help Boom Supersonic.
The latest investor, the $500 billion Saudi Arabian Neom fund, is intent on helping solve “the world’s most complex problems.” The Kingdom’s two airlines, Saudia and Riyadh, are also considering orders for the new supersonic jetliner. Boom confirms that the Middle East is a target market for the plane. Boom’s CEO said, There is an enormous amount of interest in supersonic flight all over the world but particularly in the Middle East, and the reason is that supersonic provides a massive advantage for connecting hubs.”
Boom also is intent on opening its Greensboro Overture Superfactory next year. The first full-size Overture craft is due off the production line in 2026.
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