Supersonic business jet - We`re waiting and waiting....

Supersonic jets can fly from New York to L.A. in 2.5 hours (or less)


Lockheed supersonic jet
An illustration of Lockheed's N+2 concept aircraft, one of many that may return supersonic service to passenger air travel.

The super rich may soon be going supersonic.
Over a decade after the Concorde made its last transatlantic flight, a number of companies are working on the next generation of supersonic passenger aircraft capable of speeds at least twice as fast as current commercial planes.

These planes will likely first appear in the private and business jet market.
It's the "corporate jets and the very rich who would value the speed and pay a high price," said Andrew Goldberg, CEO of Metropolis Group, an investment firm with expertise in the aerospace sector.
At least two companies are currently working on such planes.

Reno, Nevada, based Aerion is developing a $110 million, 12-passenger business jet capable of hitting Mach 1.6 -- or over 1,200 miles per hour. That's roughly twice as fast as the $65 million Gulfstream G650, and would cut the travel time between New York and London from seven hours to just over four.
"There's a business case and a demand for this," said Jeff Miller, Aerion's head of marketing and communication. "People want to get places faster."


aerion supersonic
A rendering of Aerion's AS2 supersonic business jet.

The company has deposits from dozens of customers and recently signed an agreement for technical assistance with Airbus -- the company that, in an earlier incarnation, built the Concorde. They hope to deliver the first plane in 2022.


Boston-based Spike Aerospace is working on a similar plane that would also carry business passengers at a speed of Mach 1.6. The company boasts on its website that flying on the plane "will make any other jet feel like flying on a prop plane."