Blake Scholl, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boom Supersonic
, recently made a creative sales pitch to the world’s largest low-cost carrier, 
Southwest Airlines
, in a bid that it could operate the supersonic aircraft between the US mainland and Hawaii.
In actual fact, Scholl was simply letting travelers they may catch a glimpse of the Boom Supersonic aircraft performing test flights between the continual US and Hawaiian islands. Known as
Boom Overture
, the aircraft in testing is set to bring back supersonic commercial flights to the industry. So far, the variant has over 100 orders from three prominent airlines.
Boom was founded in 2014
Scholl founded Boom Supersonic
in 2014 to make high-speed travel more mainstream. Boom has an ambitious goal of returning supersonic air travel to the skies. Once airborne, it is believed it could revolutionize flights to the island state of Hawaii, potentially halving flight times.
Photo: Boom Supersonic
The XB-1 test aircraft plays a tremendous role in laying the groundwork for the Boom Overture’s success. Boom has gained interest from three major global carriers: 
American Airlines
, Japan Airlines, and Japan Airlines
. All three carriers have pre-orders for the aircraft. Alone, these three carriers hold a combined order of 130 aircraft, signaling strong support for supersonic travel.
Boom has reiterated its vision in a recent media release:
“Supersonic flight is one the most meaningful competitive differentiators airlines can offer their passengers. Not only do Overture’s target passengers want faster flight, but 87% have indicated that they will switch from their preferred airline to access supersonic flight. There are more than 600 global routes where Overture can cut travel times in half, including destinations served by Southwest such as Los Angeles to Honolulu in less than 3 hours.”
Takeoff by the end of 2024
Boom’s test program is gaining rapid pace, with its vision to achieve supersonic flight by the end of this year. This goal could bring the prospect of a quick trip to Hawaii even closer to reality. The Federal Aviation Administration
has granted authorization to exceed Mach 1, allowing Boom to test supersonic operations in airspace that is usually limited for military and research purposes only.
Boom has plans to conduct up to ten more test flights with XB-1 before it achieves supersonic speeds, and these milestones are set to take place within the next three months. While the XB-1 is a testbed for Boom, the aviation industry is keeping an eager eye on the launch of the hotly anticipated Boom Overture aircraft. It is hoped the aircraft could reach speeds of up to Mach 1.7, twice the speed of commercial jets, meaning a trip between Los Angeles International Airport
and Honolulu International Airport
could be completed in just three hours.
While it remains unclear whether Southwest will purchase a supersonic aircraft, the Boom Overture is set to revolutionize any airline that welcomes it into its fleet. This may be the next best thing for those who have ever traveled on the Concorde
!