It was only a matter of time. Everyone knew it. Ever since the Franco-British Concorde made its last flight, in 2003, there has been an expectation that a supersonic aircraft would appear to revive its dormant soul. It has happened 18 years later and aviation enthusiasts couldn’t be happier. The Overture, from US company Boom Supersonic, is that new aircraft, which is scheduled to launch in 2025, although flights are not due to start until the following year, with commercial passenger travel expected to begin in 2029. Designed to seat between 65 and 88 people, it will be the largest commercial aircraft in the world to fly on 100% sustainable, zero-emissions fuel, and will also be twice as fast as current ones, allowing it to connect more than 500 destinations in almost half the time. For the more sceptical, there is reason to believe that this journey is flying at a good pace, especially after US airline United Airlines announced that it will acquire 15 Overture aircraft, "as soon as all safety, operational and sustainability requirements of this new aircraft are met, with the option to purchase a further 35 aircraft”. The many possible future routes for United include: New York-London in about three and a half hours; New York-Frankfurt in four hours; and San Francisco-Tokyo in just six hours. Breaking the time barrier can change the way our lives are organised, Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, has assured us several times. "It changes where we can go on holiday, it changes where we can do business... Changes you can fall in love with.”
