Boom Supersonic recently conducted a fourth test flight of its proof-of-concept XB-1 successfully, bringing it a step closer to turning the Boom Overture into reality. While we may have to wait till the end of the decade for the supersonic airliner to fly passengers, the company’s founder and CEO, Blake Scholl, made a creative sales pitch to Southwest Airlines on X (formerly Twitter). He offered to help the airline with its flights from the mainland to the Hawaiian city of Honolulu. “Imagine leaving LA at 5p pacific, landing HNL before 5p Hawaii time, and sipping a cocktail on the beach well before sunset,” Scholl tweeted. However, the tweet immediately got much attention as Southwest is the world’s largest low-cost carrier. Will Southwest flyers be able to afford a ticket on a supersonic airliner?
To answer that question, we have to look at the Concorde and its history. There’s no denying that Concorde is the most glamorous passenger jet the world has ever seen. Flying in the Concorde was a luxurious and unique experience.
Considered a status symbol, the supersonic attracted celebrities, business executives, and world leaders. In addition to the unparalleled in-flight experience, the clientele also enjoyed exclusive lounges and priority services at airports.
The cabin of the Concorde was relatively small and narrow, seating around 100 passengers in a 2-2 seating configuration. All passengers were offered the same level of service, which can be considered a notch above first class. The food and service were of the highest quality, with gourmet meals, fine wines, and personalized service, making the experience unmatched.
But only the richest of the rich could afford to fly in a Concorde. During the initial years, it cost around $2800 in today’s money to go from London to New York. However, the prices went up significantly over the year. By the last 1990s, a roundtrip across the Atlantic would generally cost around $12,500 in today’s money, making it more expensive than the current first-class tickets on the same route. Can Boom completely turn around the economics of supersonic passenger jets and make them affordable to the masses?
The answer is no, as Scholl himself admitted in the past. While Boom has said the ticket pricing would be entirely in the hands of the operators, it has admitted that fares would be similar to business class.
The company currently has orders for 130 Overture jets from American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines. However, it’s doubtful that Southwest would ever show interest. Its average ticket price from LA to Honolulu is just $190. The Tweet from Scholl was probably just a creative way to tell the world that Boom Overture will transport you to the beautiful beaches of Hawaii in half as much time as the current crop of passenger jets.
