This startup is building the world's next supersonic jet
When you think of supersonic jet travel, visions of hurtling through the sky at thousands of miles an hour may seem farfetched.
But a start-up, Boom Technologies, hopes to reimagine supersonic jet travel. The company recently unveiled its fully-functional prototype plane. According to Boom, XB-1 is nearly 71 feet in length and, at supersonic speed, the aircraft exterior can reach temperatures up to 260°F. XB-1's fuselage can withstand temperatures exceeding 300°F. Boom says it hopes to begin flight testing in 2021.
Last month we reported that Boom Supersonic's Overture jet could one day fly the president of the United States. The company landed an Air Force contract, intended to help fund "explorations" of a special version of the Overture supersonic plane.
Boom says the Overture jets can fly between Paris and Montreal in under four hours and Los Angeles and Sydney in just eight hours and 30 minutes. For context, a nonstop flight between LAX and Sydney on American Airlines' Boeing 777 or Delta's Airbus A350 clocks in at 15 hours.
The Air Force has also issued contracts with other companies to research a supersonic government passenger jet, including California-based Exosonic.
This isn't the world's first experience with a supersonic jet.
Concorde supersonic transport was a technological tour-de-force that operated in airline service from 1976 to 2003. 100 passengers were pampered during Air France and British Airways flights at twice the speed of sound, crossing the Atlantic in half the time of subsonic jetliners like the Boeing 747.
Related: Concorde at 50: What Flying Supersonic Was Really Like
British Airways operated Concorde on flights BA 001 and BA 002 to and from New York's JFK, and also operated during the winter to Barbados (BGI).
BA also operated scheduled services to Washington and Bahrain three times per week, Miami with a stopover in Washington, and to Toronto during the summer.
Air France also operated Concorde, dubbed the "White Bird" on daily flights between Paris (CDG) and JFK. The Paris flight departed at 10:30 am local time, arriving in New York at 8:25 am.
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Annual Fee
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month