Branson eyes affordable supersonic travel

File photo: The billionaire's Spaceship Company has joined forces with US firm Boom to re-launch passenger flights breaking the sound barrier for the first time since Concorde's demise in 2003.

File photo: The billionaire's Spaceship Company has joined forces with US firm Boom to re-launch passenger flights breaking the sound barrier for the first time since Concorde's demise in 2003.

Published Nov 16, 2016

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London - The sky clearly isn’t the limit for Sir Richard Branson.

Not content with plans to launch passenger rockets into space, the Virgin tycoon has now unveiled a prototype supersonic aeroplane that will be 100mph faster than Concorde.

The billionaire’s Spaceship Company has joined forces with US firm Boom to re-launch passenger flights breaking the sound barrier for the first time since Concorde’s demise in 2003.

Their 40-seat Boom jet is intended to be able to fly from London to New York in just three and a half hours – the same as Concorde. But unlike flights on Concorde, which cost passengers £5 400 (about R92 000) one way, the men behind the Boom claim it will be “available for everyone” at just £1 750. Returns should cost £4 000.

But first, the technology will be tested on the XB-1 prototype, nicknamed Baby Boom, which was unveiled yesterday in Denver, Colorado.

Sir Richard said: “I have long been passionate about the development of high-speed commercial flights.” The XB-1, a one-third scale version of the Boom, will take its first test next year, with the first commercial Boom flights in 2023.

The man behind Boom is Blake Scholl, a former Amazon executive and pilot. He said: “Sixty years after the dawn of the jet age, we’re still flying at 1960s speeds. Concorde’s designers didn’t have the technology for affordable supersonic travel, but now we do.”

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The Boom could eventually fly on 500 routes, but will begin with London to New York, San Francisco to Tokyo and Los Angeles to Sydney.

Daily Mail

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