Boom: A plane faster than Concorde with fares a quarter of the price?

[Svnla]

I make plenty of long flights oversea and able to cut more than 1/2 of the time be stuck inside a plane = wholesome goodness. Hopefully this will work.

The Boom airplane would travel at Mach 2.2 -- more than twice the speed of sound and 2.6 times faster than any other airliner -- and fly from New York to London in 3.4 hours.
That's San Francisco to Tokyo in 4.7 hours or Los Angeles to Sydney in six.
That transatlantic trip cuts the standard seven-hour journey by more than half.
With a round-trip price tag of $5,000 it's not exactly "affordable" travel, but for the world's business elite, it's a steal.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/24/aviation/boom-supersonic-plane-virgin-space-company/

 

[Ns1]

Very interesting if they can actually meet that pricing - ~$5k the current cost of a 12 hour business class trip to Europe from LA.

 

[Jeff7]

Then there's the view from the windows: Boom plans to cut flight-time by flying at 60,000 feet, meaning passengers will be able to see the curvature of the Earth.

 

[PricklyPete]

Really pulling for these guys...but I'm keeping my expectations low.

 

[ElFenix]

Wouldn't it need to? To fly faster you pretty much have to fly higher (and flying faster makes you fly higher as lift is a function of speed)

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow, I went on a big plane once, and we were at around 30k feet, and could already somewhat see the curvature of the earth, 60k would be quite interesting for sure.



Picture does not really do it justice though. It was a pretty awesome experience. Wish I had my DSLR back then.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Wow, I went on a big plane once, and we were at around 30k feet, and could already somewhat see the curvature of the earth, 60k would be quite interesting for sure.



Picture does not really do it justice though. It was a pretty awesome experience. Wish I had my DSLR back then.

It is generally accepted that you cannot perceive the curvature of the Earth until you get above 50,000 feet above the surface of the planet. Commercial airliners fly at 30-35,000' so you were nowhere near that.

 

[TheVrolok]

5k isn't really that bad to make that trip incredibly more convenient, I'd pay it.

 

[Charmonium]

I'd never pay that much for a ticket which I assume is one way. I'd dope myself up and ride the cattle car for 7 hours. But I would do it at least once for the experience. I sort of regret never having taken the concorde. I just figured it would always be around.

 

[Paratus]

Wouldn't it need to? To fly faster you pretty much have to fly higher (and flying faster makes you fly higher as lift is a function of speed)

We require our WB57 pilots, who fly at 60,000ft, to wear pressure suits. Seems like passengers on this would be SOL in case of a cabin depress.

 

[Svnla]

I'd never pay that much for a ticket which I assume is one way. I'd dope myself up and ride the cattle car for 7 hours. But I would do it at least once for the experience. I sort of regret never having taken the concorde. I just figured it would always be around.

I even quoted this in the OP.

With a round-trip price tag of $5,000 ...

Not as cheap as cattlee class (coach) in a typical airline (about $1.5K or so) but people would pay it for the time saved to fly across the ocean (which is over 10 hours or more currently).

 

[Ns1]

5k RT for a business class seat, shorter time flight, AND aisle + window seating sounds too good to be true.

 

[TheVrolok]

5k RT for a business class seat, shorter time flight, AND aisle + window seating sounds too good to be true.

Right? ... right?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I'm going to build a plane that goes Mach 3.7 and fares will be free. Gonna be a game changer!! And it's as close to reality as the Boom is. Or the Hyperloop.

 

[Blackjack200]

We require our WB57 pilots, who fly at 60,000ft, to wear pressure suits. Seems like passengers on this would be SOL in case of a cabin depress.

Concorde flew at 60k feet. You're not flying transatlantic at Mach 2 at 40k feet. There's too much drag.

 

[Hugo Drax]

What plane? All i saw was a computer generated model. Sounds like a kickstarter scam. I wonder how many suckers they will get to invest into it.

 

[ElFenix]

We require our WB57 pilots, who fly at 60,000ft, to wear pressure suits. Seems like passengers on this would be SOL in case of a cabin depress.

It was Concorde's maximum cruising altitude, so wouldn't be new for pax traffic.

Just wondering where they're going to put all the fuel for these LA to Sydney trips.

 

[Svnla]

What plane? All i saw was a computer generated model. Sounds like a kickstarter scam. I wonder how many suckers they will get to invest into it.

Sir Richard Branson of Virgin is one of those "suckers". There is no "physical plane" yet because the whole process is still in the planning stage.

Today, another big name is getting attached to the project: Virgin.

Boom is announcing today that Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has optioned ten planes, in a deal ultimately valued at about $2 billion dollars. Boom also says they’ve optioned 15 additional planes to a European carrier that it declined to name, bringing the total value of the optioned planes up to $5 billion.

Now, this doesn’t mean that Virgin has bought the planes — it’s a bit too early for that. They’ve signed a letter of intent, meaning that, having seen the nitty-gritty specs of the plane and the company’s plans for moving forward, they intend to buy 10 planes if everything comes together as planned.

But it also looks like Virgin is going to help make that happen: Boom founder Blake Scholl tells me that Virgin Galactic’s space division, The Spaceship Company, has committed to helping build and test the planes, including helping with the supersonic testing when the time comes.

 

[Ns1]

Sir Richard Branson of Virgin is one of those "suckers".

when you have a few billion to spare you can afford to make some sucker bets.

 

[Hugo Drax]

when you have a few billion to spare you can afford to make some sucker bets.

yup, plenty of Angel investors etc.. willing to throw the dice on these miracle plays. They do not pan out. But you get a tax deduction and your name in the news ie I bet Richard does not mind too much.

Notice they do not even have an actual aircraft and they are already talking ticket prices

Hey that reminds me I wonder how Elio Motors is doing

 

[Paratus]

Concorde flew at 60k feet. You're not flying transatlantic at Mach 2 at 40k feet. There's too much drag.

It was Concorde's maximum cruising altitude, so wouldn't be new for pax traffic.

Just wondering where they're going to put all the fuel for these LA to Sydney trips.

Guess I never realized that before.

Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Hey that reminds me I wonder how Elio Motors is doing

ROFL!! I forgot all about them. They're still taking deposits.

 

[madoka]

5k isn't really that bad to make that trip incredibly more convenient, I'd pay it.

Maybe I'm just cheap, but I don't see myself paying that kind of price.

Assuming you save 7 hours on a trans-Pacific flight with a $3500 premium over a coach flight, that's about $500 per hour you're spending for the convenience. I can think of a LOT I can do with that kind of money.

 

[Ns1]

Maybe I'm just cheap, but I don't see myself paying that kind of price.

Assuming you save 7 hours on a trans-Pacific flight with a $3500 premium over a coach flight, that's about $500 per hour you're spending for the convenience. I can think of a LOT I can do with that kind of money.

You are not the target market. The business travelers who are already paying 5k for a business class seat would eat this up. It's not their money; it's the company's money.

 

[DigDog]

concorde tickets used to cost less than that, they were about $2500 for EU-US. or, they were, if you bought from our side.
obv needs adjustment for inflation, but "quarter price" seems off.