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Airbus unveils plan for new supersonic passenger plane
Airbus is working on plans for an ‘ultra rapid air vehicle’ capable of flying between London and New York in just an hour.
Billed as the ‘Son of Concorde’, the new supersonic jet would fly at 3,400 mph – more than four times the speed of sound, making it more than twice as fast as Concorde.
However, it would carry only a fifth as many passengers – 20 at the most – leading to speculation that fares would be out of the reach of all but the wealthiest travellers.
Airbus, which has filed a patent for the jet, said it was aimed at business travellers and VIPs who wanted to make long-haul day trips.
The plans show the plane would be propelled vertically by rocket engines to supersonic speeds and then hydrogen-powered wing mounted ramjets would take over and propel the aircraft to its destination.
It would then travel at speeds of up to Mach 4.5 before slowing and joining regular jets as it neared its destination.
Airbus claims the new plane’s shape and vertical trajectory would dramatically reduce the sonic boom that travelling at high speeds creates and which caused many countries to ban Concorde.
It says the aircraft would be able to complete trips such as Tokyo to Los Angeles in just three hours – a journey that currently takes 11 hours 30 minutes.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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