AEROLÍNEAS

Boom CEO sees market for 1,000 supersonic passenger jets by 2035

Denver-based Boom Technology founder and CEO Blake Scholl believes the company"™s first supersonic passenger aircraft can enter commercial service as soon as 2023 and there is a market for as many as 1,000 supersonic airliners to be delivered by 2035.

Speaking at the IATA Wings of Change conference in Miami, Scholl said $33 million in funding secured last month"”bringing Boom"™s total financing to $41 million"”removes monetary obstacles for the company, enabling it to build and flight test the "Baby Boom" prototype that will be a precursor to the full-size Boom aircraft. The full-size aircraft will be able to seat up to 55 passengers in an all-business class configuration, according to Scholl.

The Baby Boom"™s first flight is targeted for 2018, and the full-size Boom aircraft"™s first flight is targeted for 2020 with a 2023 FAA certification goal. The Baby Boom, which is being built now, will be a third of the size of the planned full-size Boom aircraft.

"Finally, the funding is not the problem," Scholl said. "$41 million is not enough to get all the way through certification, but enough to build the first Baby Boom airplane and prove that it works."

Unlike the supersonic Concorde, which was so costly for airlines to operate that fares were largely unaffordable and led to its commercial demise, the Boom aircraft will be cost-efficient and affordable for passengers, Scholl said. "You could charge the same fares you"™re charging in business class today and get the same margins or better," he said…

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