These supersonic jets can cut your flight time in half

There are major two reasons why you are not jetting across the world at the speed of sound already: cost, and noise. Commercial supersonic travel ended in 2003, but it could soon make a comeback when Boom ultimately manufactures its own 55-seater supersonic airliner.

Boom introduced its supersonic passenger airliner as well as the XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator, at a press conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha yesterday.

The commercial aircraft will connect the GCC to the rest of the world with flights up to 2.6X faster than conventional airliners.

For example, a flight from Doha to Sydney which takes 14 hours today will take just 8 hours and 25 minutes flying supersonic. Similarly, Doha to New York will be 7 hours and 25 minutes instead of a the wearisome 13 hours and 55 minutes today.

Based in Denver, Colorado, Boom Supersonic is using state-of-the-art aerospace technologies to deliver a revolutionary speedup in travel. Compared to Concorde, designed in the 1960s, Boom will be 80% less expensive to operate—leading to affordable tickets for passengers and profit opportunities for airlines.

The Boom airliner seats up to 55 passengers in comfort and privacy. Cruising at 60,000', passengers experience less turbulence. Looking through the largest windows in commercial aviation, the sky is a deeper blue and one can see Earth's curvature.

Key technologies for supersonic include carbon fiber composites, advanced aerodynamics, and modern turbofan jet engines. These technologies combine to enable an airplane faster than Concorde, yet quiet, efficient, and comfortable for passengers.

Blake Scholl, Boom Founder and CEO said: "Qatar has one of the world's fastest-growing airlines which leads the world in travel experience. We are delighted to bring in innovative transportation technologies and introduce Boom to Qatar where tourism is burgeoning. Supersonic will make the corners of the globe more accessible to travellers and give them more of the luxury they value most: time."

The Boom's XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator, a ⅓ scale prototype aircraft, is under construction now and will fly in 2018.

Passenger flights will begin in the early 2020s. The XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator will fly with hardware from General Electric (engines), Honeywell (avionics), Tencate (carbon fiber), with composite structures fabricated by Blue Force. Final assembly and vehicle integration are taking place in Boom's facility at Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado.

Flight Times from Doha today (in hours)

London - 7:29
New York - 13:55
Sydney - 14:01
Paris - 7:03
Singapore - 7:42
Johannesburg - 8:25
Hong Kong - 7:44

Flight Times from Doha with Supersonic (in hours)

London - 4:27
New York - 7:26
Sydney - 8:25
Paris - 4:12
Singapore - 3:39
Johannesburg - 4:34
Hong Kong - 4:44

Are you looking forward to fly in a supersonic flight in the near future?