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…
