Supersonic flight clears a significant hurdle for the future, as the president of the United States signed an executive order to promote supersonic aviation in the country on Friday, June 6, 2025, which includes the removal of stifling regulatory barriers so that innovative companies can dominate supersonic flight once again.
Supersonic Flight Clears a Significant Hurdle For The Future
“For more than 50 years, outdated and overly restrictive regulations have grounded the promise of supersonic flight over land, stifling American ingenuity, weakening our global competitiveness, and ceding leadership to foreign adversaries”, said Donald J. Trump, according to this official press release from The White House. “Advances in aerospace engineering, materials science, and noise reduction now make supersonic flight not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable. This order begins a historic national effort to reestablish the United States as the undisputed leader in high-speed aviation. By updating obsolete standards and embracing the technologies of today and tomorrow, we will empower our engineers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries to deliver the next generation of air travel, which will be faster, quieter, safer, and more efficient than ever before.”
The executive order:
- Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States to repeal the prohibition on overland supersonic flight, establish an interim noise-based certification standard, and repeal other regulations that hinder supersonic flight.
- Instructs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification that considers community acceptability, economic reasonableness, and technological feasibility.
- Advances the coordination of supersonic research, development, test and evaluation efforts through the National Science and Technology Council with leadership from the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
- Promotes international engagement through the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies to align global supersonic flight regulations and secure bilateral agreements for international operations.
History of the Long Anticipated Return of Supersonic Travel
Before delving into the history of the long anticipated return of supersonic travel, the last supersonic flights of Concorde were special flights and not commercially scheduled flights that were operated by:
- Air France on Friday June 27, 2003, with aircraft registration number F-BVFC.
- British Airways on Wednesday November 26, 2003, with aircraft registration number G-BOAF.
In March of 2016, Boom Supersonic became the latest entrant in what was growing to become a crowded field of supersonic aircraft. At that time, the company promised airplanes which will fly faster than Concorde — and at $5,000.00 each way between New York and London; $6,500.00 between San Francisco and Tokyo; and $7,000.00 between Los Angeles and Sydney, supersonic travel will purportedly be more affordable than Concorde.
United Airlines entered into an agreement with Boom Supersonic to purchase a fleet of 15 airplanes which will be capable of supersonic travel — with an option to acquire 35 additional airplanes — in an effort to return supersonic speed to commercial aviation as soon as 2029.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 was an important day with regard to supersonic travel returning to commercial aviation, as the first supersonic flight that was operated by Boom broke the sound barrier successfully with the XB-1 airplane, which became the first independently developed supersonic jet aircraft that was created in the United States to accomplish this feat and the first civil supersonic flight that was piloted by a human being since the retirement of Concorde greater than 20 years ago.
The long road — er…flight — to the return of supersonic transportation has not been without its barriers, trials, tribulations, and impediments. Aerion Supersonic partnered with Airbus Group in an agreement back in September of 2014 to collaborate on technologies to advance the development and commercialization of the Aerion AS2 to become the first supersonic business jet in the world for the possibility of high-performance supersonic flights in the future. Unfortunately, Aerion Supersonic suddenly ceased operations on the evening of Friday, May 21, 2021 after 18 years of pursuing the dream of supersonic air travel and liquidated its assets.
Not to be outdone, Lockheed Martin worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States on a design for a supersonic aircraft which could carry a maximum of 80 passengers. The aircraft would supposedly be capable of cruising at Mach 1.7, which is 1.7 times the speed of sound. The supposedly quieter replacement for Concorde was one step closer to reality with the award of a contract for the preliminary design of a “low boom” flight demonstration aircraft in March of 2016. The result of this partnership is the X-59 aircraft, which was officially announced on Friday, January 12, 2024.
Additionally, key advances in the technologies pertaining to the development of batteries could one day lead to supersonic electric airplanes and safer portable electronic devices in the future — and they could occur faster than you might think.
Final Boarding Call
I was fortunate to be a passenger on Concorde operated by Air France during its last week of commercial operation on Sunday, May 25, 2003. You can read all about my experience — as well as view photographs and a video — in this article; and you can view photographs of souvenirs in this article — including the menu of the choices of food and beverages that were being served aboard the supersonic aircraft on that flight. Flying as a passenger at twice the speed of sound is an experience about which I will never forget…
…but Concorde supposedly failed because tickets — as well as the maintenance of the fleet of aging aircraft — were expensive. The affordability of traveling on a supersonic airplane in the future remains to be seen — especially with fewer passengers and more luxury amenities.
Supersonic travel is technically no longer “vaporware” at this point; but one can hope that it will return in some form — and hopefully, more affordably and substantially more fuel efficient — as soon as possible…
…but I still do not believe that that day will be as soon as in the year 2029 — although that it will occur within our lifetimes is looking more and more likely with each passing day.
Although I flew as a passenger on Concorde, I would like to be a passenger aboard a supersonic airplane once again. Whether that will be possible due to a number of factors remains to be seen…
All photographs ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
