United’s Supersonic Jet of the Future

  • How the Overture is making travel faster and more fuel efficient
  • How this jet will help minimize carbon emissions
“Overture” aircraft

Recently, United announced it reached an agreement to purchase 15 of Boom Supersonic’s “Overture” aircraft in the next couple years, with United having the option to purchase an additional 35 Overtures for its fleet. The goal is to start test flying the aircraft by 2026, in the hopes of carrying commercial passengers before the end of the decade. The Overture can fly at speeds of up to Mach 1.7, making it slightly slower than the Concorde’s top speed, but still significantly faster than today’s subsonic commercial jets. That could allow the airline to make more than 500 trips in half the time it would normally take which opens up new possibilities for travel such as going from Newark to London in less than 4 hours.

In addition to speeding up travel, the hope is that Boom Supersonic flights can be more sustainable as well. As of now, Overture would become the first large commercial aircraft that runs entirely on sustainable aviation fuel, which would make it the first net-zero carbon commercial aircraft. The idea that it’s possible to maximize sustainability without sacrificing performance seems to be a major reason why United entered into this purchase agreement. It’ll probably be another seven and a half years before you can book your supersonic flight. With all of the talk of air travel’s role in climate change, hopefully this can make the process of getting halfway around the world not only easier, but a little greener too.


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