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Aug 16, 2010 American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) on Tuesday agreed to buy up to 20 jets from planemaker Boom Supersonic; It has become the second largest US airline to bet on superfast passenger travel over the past two years.
The deal will bring Boom’s order book to 130 aircraft, including options, worth about $26 billion, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said in an interview.
The revival of interest in supersonic jets comes nearly two decades after the Concorde, flown by Air France and British Airways, was retired following a series of crashes and high fuel and maintenance costs.
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Last year, United Airlines Holdings Inc ( UAL.O ) agreed to buy 15 Boom Overture planes if they met certain safety, operational and sustainability standards. A similar situation was part of the American Airlines agreement. Read more
American has an option to buy an additional 40 jets, each capable of carrying 65 to 80 passengers, the companies said.
The four-engine Overture jet can fly from Miami to London in five hours, cutting the nearly nine-hour flight time between the cities in half.
American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said it was too early to discuss ticket prices because the plane is not expected to carry its first passengers until 2029.
Supersonic jets have been criticized by environmentalists for burning more fuel per passenger than comparable subsonic aircraft.
The Overture jet, designed to run entirely on sustainable aviation fuel or a blend, will roll out of Boom’s Greensboro, North Carolina, plant in 2025, followed by test flights in 2026.
Third Bridge senior analyst Christopher Wright sounded a note of caution on Boom’s delivery target, noting that a delay in test flights for Boom’s other jet, the XB-1, could delay Overture deliveries.
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Reporting by Nathan Gomes by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Bengaluru and Chicago; Editing by Vnay Dwivedi and Devika Syamnath
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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