Posted on 03/25/2016 6:26:39 AM PDT by C19fan
Sir Richard Branson is set to order 10 supersonic jets, which the manufacturer claims will herald a new era of 'affordable' supersonic travel. The airline tycoon has confirmed that Virgin has options to buy 10 of the recently revealed supersonic Boom jets, which will be capable of flying at 1,451mph - about 100mph faster than Concorde - and reaching New York from London in three and a half hours. The Boom jet is being built by former Amazon executive Blake Scholl, who is putting a prototype of Boom together in a Colorado aircraft hangar.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Five thousand a ticket is far from "affordable" for me.
Boeing sound very similar to the sound just before Wile E. Coyote apparatus fails. Boom is worse.
About time.
The Concorde was an amazing plane. Only one crash and it wasn’t really the plane or pilots fault.
Flew from 1976 to 2003.
They already do that,don’t they?
NYC—Japan ex. (Using Great Circle Route)
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Yeah for conventional planes. The Concorde could not.
Thanks-—I was not aware of that.
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“Boom” is not a good name for an airplane.
I think Concorde flights were around 10k, in 1976 money.
Dont believe it was retired due to the accident.
It was the recession after 9/11 and less demand to travel for business meetings due to email and video conferencing. Most of the Concorde passengers were high-level businessmen and diplomats.
There’s a definite market for it. C level execs get paid a lot and don’t like to waste the time it takes sitting on an airplane.
That's why the only airlines which ever flew it were government-owned Air France and British Airways. Private carriers have to turn a profit.
I think you get a cavity search if you mention the airplane manufacturer in a TSA line.
“Boom: One-way service from Riyadh since 2016”
They are planning on using a domestic style first class seat. Domestic first is often called business/first as most carriers only have one of the premium classes.
Quite honestly, if they are able to do this at said rates, Branson will change business travel.
Why would someone travel business class on normal aircraft, when they could fly a comparable product supersonically.
A supersonic plane would have no real need for lie flat seats for a 3-1/2 hour trip.
Maybe YOU don't see this as affordable, but business travelers and the companies they work for would love it. A COACH seat, departing Monday and returning Tuesday, ranges between $2500 to $4000, depending on the carrier. The same business class, for last minute, is $6500 to $7200
Fares fluctuate daily/hourly. Sometimes Buisness class and coach are near the same price when flying last minute.
Also, when traveling for business, a company must factor in per diem.
An exec can be in and out the same day. Saving a company on hotel costs and meal costs.
Maybe for you, this isn't affordable, but for businesses...
My guess is that at today’s oil prices the Concorde would still be flying.
You're comparing apples to oranges.
You're looking at a $1000 COACH ticket vs a Concorde ticket.
Per the article, they're quoting a $5000 ticket, a business class price, for what amounts to a business class product.
If Branson can pull this off and just isn't blowing PR smoke, he'll change intercontinental business travel.
Only one crash and it wasn’t really the plane or pilots fault.
...
The Concorde turned out to be a dangerous design like the Space Shuttle, so it should get some blame.
I’d place the majority of the blame on whoever neglected to sweep the runway, because the dangerous weaknesses of the aircraft were known and the runway was supposed to be sweeped.
Hopefully, this won’t be a disaster like Virgin Galactic.
But Branson is good at getting cheap publicity like Trump, and I doubt his involvement is costing him much.
$5K is competitive for first/business class travelers.
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