Former Boeing exec Doug Nichols of Aerion is developing s supersonic 12-seat jet which promises to get its passengers from New York to London in a mere 4.5 hours. That is about 3 hours faster than conventional jets.
Nichols is betting that the savings of time the new plane will provide will be worth the hefty $120 million price tag. He has been developing his dream for the past seven years, hoping to fill the supersonic jet niche that was vacated when Concorde stopped its service in 2003.
The plane, which will fly at up to 1.5 times the speed of sound is expected to take to the skies for the first time in 2021, and then be ready for regular use two years later. But this will remain but a dream unless Nichols can convince business jet investors and plane manufacturers that the plane will be in demand, especially at its special price.
Aerion estimates that the plane’s final cost for development, production, and certification will run the company a bill upwards of $4 billion.
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