Supersonic passenger planes could be in the skies this decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound, which is 1,234.8kph. United Airlines plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly up to 88 passengers, all in business class. The planes will have a top speed of 2,099kph. Most modern airplanes have a cruising speed of around 1,000kph. The new planes will cut the time it takes to fly from London to New York. It will take less than four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours.
The jets ordered by United Airlines will be the first supersonic jets to make commercial flights since 2003. The cost of the supersonic tickets will be about the same as regular business class tickets. Previously, the cost of a ticket on a supersonic airliner was over 20 times higher than economy class tickets. Only the super-rich could afford one. The new planes will be more fuel-efficient and profitable. Flights will be net-zero carbon and use sustainable fuel. The cost of each airplane is approximately $200 million. Boom already has around $6 billion in orders.