New York to London in 3 Hours? Boom Supersonic Bets Clients Will Be Onboard by 2029
Boom Supersonic promises three-hour New York–London flights by 2029, a move that could transform how advisors plan and price transatlantic travel.
Photo: Courtesy of Boom
Supersonic passenger travel may have disappeared with the Concorde in 2003, but Boom Supersonic is betting the next iteration won’t just be a prestige project: It will be a commercially viable product, and one that could reshape the way advisors plan high-end itineraries.
Speaking on the Skift Travel Podcast, CEO Blake Scholl outlined an ambitious timeline: Boom’s Overture aircraft is slated to roll out in 2027, begin test flights in 2028, and launch passenger service by the end of 2029. His bold promise: New York to London in three hours at fares positioned in the business-class segment, with pricing expected to be comparable to current lie-flat products.
Faster transatlantic service could compress European long weekends into something closer to a city-hop, or allow clients to cross the pond for a single meeting without sacrificing two days of travel. The company is already aligned with airlines, including United, American, and Japan Airlines, meaning advisors may not be looking at a stand-alone niche carrier, but rather supersonic aircraft folded into existing networks and loyalty programs.
Scholl argues Boom has solved the challenges that doomed Concorde—chiefly economics, noise, and regulation. The company’s XB-1 demonstrator became the first privately built aircraft to break the sound barrier earlier this year, while its “Boomless Cruise” technology, adapted from gaming algorithms, eliminates disruptive sonic booms over land. That breakthrough helped secure the reversal of a 52-year U.S. ban on civilian supersonic flight.
Still, skepticism remains. Willie Walsh, former British Airways CEO and now IATA’s director general, has publicly questioned whether supersonic makes sense at all, while Emirates president Tim Clark flagged cost and environmental concerns back in 2013. Both suggest the economics of scaling a new supersonic fleet remain far from proven. Scholl counters that Concorde was a Cold War prestige project that never prioritized commercial viability, while Boom’s development is airline-driven, with carriers holding pre-orders and shaping requirements from the outset.
Questions of product design and pricing strategy remain central. While Boom projects a business-class fare structure, initial scarcity could push early flights into an ultra-premium tier. Advisors will also want to understand what the onboard experience looks like, whether Overture delivers a genuine luxury cabin or simply a faster ride.
If Boom succeeds, the ripple effects could echo the jet age of the 1960s, which opened Hawaii to mass tourism and transformed business and sports travel. Supersonic could unlock new patterns of spontaneity and exclusivity, whether that means a same-day shopping trip in Paris or a cultural weekend in London without jet lag.
If Scholl is right, supersonic isn’t just coming back—it may redefine what premium travel means in the next decade.
