Boom Supersonic Overture M1.8 SST

[TomcatViP]

Ah, yes, they will face animosity. As the industry is structured today, it sees selling a blend of airliners and Business jets with de-multiplied engine sales as being more profitable.*
It is often funny to see people comparing the economics of subsonic Vs faster aircraft, always discarding the increased number of rotations with their repercussion on daily flight schedule. Seems as if yield management among the airline industry, inexplicably fall through a trap door (without even Spirit & Boeing being the cause).
Sadly, it is blatantly evident that the present model of engineered obsolescence is not sustainable. We have experienced massive financial frauds and lenient quality management, gone through a spike. IMOHO, those, among others, are clear signs of the end of an era.
It´s up to the industry to have that achieved only by outsiders, with the inherent risks on passengers safety... And profitability,

*But as expressed earlier, it´s only the very long range Business jets that will be affected.

 

[H_K]

It is often funny to see people comparing the economics of subsonic Vs faster aircraft, always discarding the increased number of rotations with their repercussion on daily flight schedule.

From the few times I’ve seen private jet users, pure speed is rarely the #1 priority. What’s more important is time efficiency in its broadest sense:

1) Point to point flexibility (flying to/from small airports to save ground travel time & hassle, or to get to remote locations)

2) Schedule flexibility (eg. the ability to change flight times on short/no notice… « let’s go wheels up »)

3) Use of time on the plane for meetings/calls, resting etc

There probably still is a niche “Concorde market” across the Atlantic (NY <-> London/Paris), or across the US (NY <-> LA/San Francisco) if you can fly supersonic above land, but your typical hedge fund or business leader who lives in a nice suburb 1hr-1.5hrs from a major airport hub might prefer his own private bizjet flying 20min from home and taking him direct to his destination, even if the biz jet has a 3hr longer block time.

Plus most bizjet flights are on shorter legs and/or random direct routes where there will never be a supersonic scheduled option. So I don’t think this makes much of a dent in bizjet usage.

Where I think there will be a market is people who fly first class commercial between major airport hubs but don’t have a transcontinental bizjet… but these travelers switching to supersonic would actually increase their carbon footprint so is not really desirable!

 

[TomcatViP]

We are not talking forcing them flying to a hub airport and having them driven to their end-destination in a Trabant taxi.

If you only replace the long leg of the crossing with a Supersonic and then switch over to a private jet, you still gain a lot of time without loosing in flexibility.
All this was already detailed earlier. But, as we are not here discussing Boom Supersonics per se, I will refrain to repeat myself.

Just imagine a hub airport in Brittany. You flew there from LaGuardia. In Zip time you are in Chamonix, London or Dublin. Idem Landing in Amsterdam that would connect you all across central Europe. Etc...

 

[H_K]

Just imagine a hub airport in Brittany. You flew there from LaGuardia. In Zip time you are in Chamonix, London or Dublin. Idem Landing in Amsterdam that would connect you all across central Europe. Etc...

OK I can see some of the promise then. To work I see 2 requirements:

1) Use bizjet hubs like London Farnborough/Luton, Paris Le Bourget, Teterboro NJ, Los Angeles Van Nuys etc and avoid commercial hubs as much as possible. This is to remove weather/ATC delays and the hassles on the ground with large airports (also often far from city centers). Requires relatively short runway capability (7,000ft / 2,100m).

2) Really good instant transfers to/from supersonic shuttle to smaller private bizjet / helicopter for the regional leg. This requires some thought around ground logistics, immigration clearance and boarding procedures etc. Probably not impossible, but just can't be an afterthought.

If you can save 3hrs block time, and 1hr on the ground on each end, plus still retain the flexibility to continue onwards by bizjet then you have something potentially very attractive (though I doubt is any better for the environment).

 

[Grey Havoc]

2) Really good instant transfers to/from supersonic shuttle to smaller private bizjet / helicopter for the regional leg. This requires some thought around ground logistics, immigration clearance and boarding procedures etc. Probably not impossible, but just can't be an afterthought.

A case of back to the future, perhaps?

A proposed British 'VTOL port' from the 1970s, h/t zebedee.