(PSFK) — Virgin Galactic and Colorado start-up Boom are teaming up to develop what could be the world’s fastest passenger plane. The plane would fly at Mach 2.2 (or 1,451 MPH), and get you from New York to London in 3.4 hours, cutting current flying times by more than half. According to CNN, roundtrip fare on Boom would cost $5,000 (about the equivalent of an international flight in business class).
Boom is similar in concept to the supersonic plane, the Concorde. While the Concorde charged approximately $20,000 for a roundtrip flight and seated up to 100 passengers, Boom would seat just 40 passengers split into two single-seat rows. As the planes will fly at 60,000 feet, passengers should be able to see the curvature of the Earth from their windows. The company hopes that the plane’s smaller capacity will make it easier to fill up flights.
Blake Scholl, Boom’s founder and chief executive told The Guardian, “This isn’t science fiction, we are actually doing this.” According to Scholl, the plane will come to realization using technology that already exists. “It will still be tested rigorously.”
A team of engineers (formerly of NASA, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin) will work on constructing the plane at a hangar in Denver, Colorado. “Ultimately I want people to be able to get anywhere in the world in five hours for $100,” Scholl said. “To get there you have to improve fuel efficiency, but step-by-step supersonic air travel will become available for everyone.”
Although the plane could potentially work on up to 500 routes, the company is focused on establishing routes from New York to London, San Francisco to Tokyo, and Los Angeles to Sydney.
This article was written by Laura Yan from PSFK and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
